300: Rise Of An Empire - Blood! Blood! Blood!... More Blood!

300: Rise of an Empire, both a prequel and a sequel( I don't think we have a word for that yet), is set before, during and after the events of 300. It follows a new hero in Themistocles played by Sullivan Stapleton and a far superior villain in Artemisia played by the magnificent Eva Green. It is a fictional retelling of the Battle of Artemisium and the Battle of Salamis during the Second Persian Invasion of Greece. It is ,once again, a celebration of violence, blood and gore. Noam Murro understood what made the original a success and works completely on the blueprints of Zack Snyder. Although, it would be wrong to say that it is a complete rehash. Rise of an Empire had an updated visual style, more characterisation and better storytelling than it's predecessor.

The film begins during Battle of Marathon, where a little known soldier called Themistocles plans an attack on the unsuspecting Persian army and kills their King Darius I. And like every other idiot hero, he leaves Darius' son alive. So naturally, the son becomes the "God-King" Xerxes with Artemisia serving as his main advisor and naval commander. This leads to Xerxes declaring war on all of Greece. And from there it's all about the stylish and cartoonish action that made the original a classic. Murro recreates the monochromatic palate of 300 along with all the blood splattering, screaming, uplifting speeches and heroic/evil caricatures. The action is more fast paced with plenty of tracking and swooping shots and the "fast-slow-mo" action of the original thrown here and there. The production is as good as 300, yet the action sequences felt dated. Yes, Rise of an Empire belongs to the franchise that started this style of film-making but it has been done to death since then and hence the action doesn't feel quite fresh. The main reason of this problem is it's release year, which was 6 years too late. The same problem Sin City: A Dame to Kill For suffered from that same year. Still, it is a treat for the fans of the original.

Xerxes is thankfully kept to minimum. More attention is given to his backstory here but he is so uninteresting and one dimensional that whenever he appears he sucks the life away. Gerard Butler is definitely not as big as he was during 300, but still his presence is missed. Sullivan looked great during his monologues and fight sequences but the character of Themistocles is very shallow. There is no depth or proper motivations to his character. Leonidas was a King, had a wife and a son. Meanwhile there is nobody waiting for Themistocles( even his supposed best friend) and there is no one who cares about him. He is nothing more than a good guy with a dream. Rise of an Empire is carried by the stunning Eva Green. She is my favourite actress and was the only reason why I bothered to watch the film. And boy, was she great? She stole every scene she was involved in. Artemisia had actual motivations, characterization, a sympathetic background and at the end of the day many ended up rooting for her rather than the Greeks. Eva Green was the heart, soul and brain of the film.

300: Rise of an Empire is absolutely mindless and totally pointless. The title of the article perfectly summarises the film. It's blood, then more blood, then some more blood and finally more blood. Fans of original are in for a treat while others may simply question its existence.