{"id":17754,"date":"2014-08-15T10:26:48","date_gmt":"2014-08-15T14:26:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=17754"},"modified":"2015-12-09T10:37:29","modified_gmt":"2015-12-09T15:37:29","slug":"300-rise-of-an-empire-2014-blu-ray-dvdultraviolet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2014\/08\/15\/300-rise-of-an-empire-2014-blu-ray-dvdultraviolet\/","title":{"rendered":"300: Rise of an Empire (2014) [Blu-Ray\/DVD\/Ultraviolet]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"300-roae\"<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the biggest mistakes that \u201c300: Rise of an Empire\u201d makes is that it insists on imitating Zack Snyder\u2019s style of filmmaking. Whether if by choice or by the order of the studios, director Naom Murro spends more time in the movie trying to copy Zack Snyder\u2019s excessive slow motion and blurry flourishes, rather than actually trying to help this sequel stand out from its predecessor. Murro is so focused on convincing audiences that it\u2019s legitimate extension of the original film, that he can never solve the movie\u2019s biggest problem: The fact that it\u2019s so utterly mind numbingly dull. The movie spends a lot of time in the first twenty minutes reminding us of the first film that it can never really build momentum for its own narrative.<\/p>\n

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Gerard Butler has a small cameo, and Lena Headey returns once again as Queen Gorgo, who is now licking her wounds from the defeat of the Spartans and gathers her army around her. To tell them a forty minute long story of Xerxes. \u201cRise of the Empire\u201d consists of flashback after flashback, with endless exposition, and droning back story, all of which are supposed to be relevant to the actual events occurring before us. But since the movie is only about a hundred minutes long, there\u2019s only about fifty minutes of actual storytelling and narrative progression. The rest of the run time is just the origins of the characters we see before us. Who is Themistocles of Athens? Why, join us for thirty minutes of his life story, just so you can understand that he is the protagonist of the film. Who could Xerxes possibly be? Why, Queen Gorgo will fill you in on the journey and life of Xerxes, from the death of his father right down to his transformation in to a literal golden god.<\/p>\n

What about Xerxes\u2019 psychotic naval commander and chief assassin Artemisia? Don\u2019t worry, the writers bring you along on a twenty minute look at her life story and how she became a vicious warrior. Truth be told, the only character\u2019s flashbacks I cared about were Artemisia\u2019s, because Eva Green is the only individual that provides a lifelike performance. Her turn here as the gorgeous but deadly Artemisia is dazzling, and I would have loved if the movie focused on her rise and downfall, entirely. Green steals the movie from everyone here. \u201cRise of an Empire\u201d is otherwise a dreadfully tedious and forgettable epilogue to \u201c300<\/a>\u201d that fails to capture any of the real pop culture resonance or appeal of the original movie. Save for Eva Green\u2019s dynamic performance, and the bouts of brief hyper violence, \u201c300: Rise of an Empire\u201d is a terrible, boring, and lackluster follow up to what was a serviceable action entry.<\/p>\n

Featured on the Blu-Ray\/DVD combo is \u201cBehind the Scenes: The 300 Effect\u201d a thirty minute power point style featurette with segments titled “3 Days in Hell,” “Brutal Artistry,” “A New Breed of Hero” and “Taking the Battle to Sea,\u201d all of which discuss the sequel\u2019s production, the pitch from Frank Miller, the look at visual effects, and the bloody carnage. \u201cReal Leaders & Legends\u201d is a twenty three minute look at the film\u2019s very loose depiction of historical events, and how historians pair the actual events with the film\u2019s more sensational versions. \u201cWomen Warriors\u201d is a twelve minute look at the female warriors of the movie including Artemisia and Queen Gorgo. \u201cSavage Warships\u201d is an eleven minute look at the ships of the Greek Navy and their strategies, as well as the sets for the film, and advancements made by the Greeks during war. \u201cBecoming a Warrior\u201d is a five minute segment featuring the cast training for their roles, which include sword fighting and hand to hand combat.<\/p>\n