300: Rise of an Empire

In some ways worse, in some ways better than the first film, but in the end still a good show. The protagonist may not be as charismatic as Leonidas, but he is interestingly portrayed as a sophisticated strategist who also makes mistakes. I liked the fights and battle scenes perhaps more than in 300, especially the opening one in the storm with slow motion lightning was breathtaking, Eva Green played the very erratic wild woman excellently and the whole thing went by pleasantly. Frank Miller's comic hasn't been published in Czech yet, so unlike the previous film, we don't have a chance to compare how much the writers, director and designers were inspired by it, but I liked the fact that the film didn't feel like a repetition of what had worked before, but came up with a number of new things. (19/07/2015)

Pity that digital blood (intentionally, but still not good) and low-end makers, because if it had been directed again Snyder, with an A-list cast and more polished visuals, it could have been the hit of the year. The screenplay is surprisingly skillful well-executed screenplay, Eva Green is the woman of the year and even the protagonist wasn't that terrible. The battles, however, are controversial and the overall visuals are inconsistent, they are occasionally clever and clear, sometimes awful and chaotic. Contradictory thing, but I liked the uncompromising rating and this film orgasm that may not be surpassed this year. (23/03/2014)

Compared to the first one, there is more emphasis on the story, the exteriors are more varied and the "red" action at times tries to give the impression of real battle strategy, which I consider a good step in contrast to the monotonous chopping and endless slow-motion of Snyder (although this one has too much slow-motion, too). However, the only thing that elevates this cool, visually messy parade of abs and heroic platitudes slightly above the level of the first one is the head-cutting, eye-murdering, hard-fucking but outrageously attractive and sexy Eva Green, who endows her role with such charisma that Leonidas would quickly stick his head in the sand in front of her. For her sake, I not only throw in an extra star, but even declare the second 300 a very, very enjoyable and exciting waste of time. 55% (22/03/2014)

Hectolitres of digital/artificial blood, tons of slow motion shots, a woman's breast from time to time, a bunch of half-naked guys, a WTF shot here and there - this and more sort of summarizes the second 300, which is in many ways similar, if not the same as the first one. Halfway through the film I thought it was really boring, but fortunately it all picks up somewhat in the second half, so this film deserves the three stars I gave it. Of the cast, I was most impressed by Eva Green, whose villain role fit her like a glove. In short, a film that takes a special approach to appreciate, I enjoyed the many visual effects and had a satisfying soundtrack playing in my ears. (12/04/2014)

If it weren’t for Eva Green, there would barely be a third of the movie. Her charm has breathed life into this adaptation which is far more like a comic book movie than the first 300. It all stands or falls on whether she appears on the screen. Anyways, I was sort of sick and tired of this comic book feel. The first 300 was stylish and raw. But I’d compare this one to Sin City. Everything is purposely fake and wannabe cool. I’m not saying that it was disappointing, I’m really not. But it practically has just a single ace up its sleeve – Eva Green. Everything else is awfully fleeting. (10/07/2015)