“300: Rise of an Empire” is the prequel to the popular film “300.” “300: Rise of an Empire” follows the story of Themistocles and his Athenian naval fleet. The Persian War plagued Greece for many years and the only chance the Greeks had at survival was uniting their individual city-states to fight against the Persians. Themistocles gained a high standing in the Athenian government when he was credited for killing Darius, who was the king of the Persians at the beginning of the Persian Wars. It was Themistocles who pleaded with the Greek people to unite. While the Greeks argued, Darius’s son, King Xerxes, led the Persians to fight against Greece.
Darius told Xerxes before his death that only the gods themselves could defeat the Greeks. But Artemisia, one of Darius’s closest advisors, convinced Xerxes that his father’s words were not a warning, but a challenge. Xerxes accepted his father’s challenge and became God-King of Persia. The Persians were on the warpath to Greece with Xerxes leading the land front as Artemisia led their navy.
While the rest of the Greek government argued over coming together as one, Themistocles of Athens and Leonidas of Sparta took matters into their own hands. Themistocles went to Queen Gorgo, Leonidas’s wife, to ask for the Spartans’ aid on the seas. The Spartans refused. They hated the Athenians far too much to unite with them in battle. So while Leonidas took 300 of his men to fight on land, Themistocles took his fight to at sea, where the Athenians were the strongest. Would either prevail?
Going into the film, I did not expect to be very impressed. I was never truly interested in ancient war films or any war film in general. But after seeing “300: Rise of an Empire,” I was pleasantly surprised. Yes, the movie was the epitome of a “guy movie.” There was plenty of sword-slashing, sex scenes and blood-spattering throughout the movie. Sometimes the gore even seemed like a little too much, but, through it all, the movie portrayed the ancient battles in a newer and more exciting light.
Themistocles was a great leading character. His dedication to Athens and Greece as a whole was truly something admirable. Even in battle, Themistocles was not a leader that sat behind while his army went out to fight. He stood side by side with his men as arguably the bravest and strongest of them all. Even with his warrior instincts, he also showed compassion for his fellow Athenians.
The characters were a large part of the film, and the scenery complimented them very well. At first, scenes in the film would seem odd because the color was always a slight dark red. But if you knew that both films were actually made after comic books, the color in the scenes would make sense. The dark red color of the film matches the color of the comic books quite well and makes the viewer feel as if they stumbled into a world where these colors are normal. The darkness of the sea and the redness of the sky suit the battle scenes very nicely.
The film followed actual historical events. Artemisia and Xerxes were the true leaders of Persia, and Artemisia truly led the Persian naval fleet into battle. Themistocles was a true politician and general during the time of the wars and used his influence to get the men within the Greek government on his side. I find that many of the historical movies that I hear about embellish the stories in order to make the movies more exciting, but the use of true historical figures and battles adds to the film’s sense of authenticity.
Like I said, I feel like this would be a film geared toward men. There is plenty of action and gore in the film, making it great for someone who loves a lot of fighting. Aside from the fighting, the politics within Greece are viewed briefly as well as what was going on from both sides of the war. It is also interesting to see how the characters grow into who they are in the film. Seeing the backstories of Xerxes, Themistocles and Artemisia allow the audience to understand their motivations and the decisions that they make. Overall, I enjoyed the film and would suggest it to anyone who is interested in ancient history or simply likes a good war film.
