i netflixed "300". i sorta wanted to see it in theaters, or at least the cheap theater, but missed my chance. i wasn't interested in the story so much as it was another film based on a frank miller comic and since i enjoyed "sin city" so much, why not watch another frank miller comic turned film, this time in color.

in essence, the film was the cheap version of "gladiator". everything about the production was lower in quality than "gladiator" but essentially it's just a guy movie set in the past. the main manly man has a wife and kid so he doesn't appear gay for living in such close contact with and comradery with men. there is a quick joke where the men make fun of another group for loving boys as well. i forgave a lot of the bad dialogue and acting because it was based on a comic. what really irked me though was the dubbed voice of one character because it did not fit at all. i'm talking about xerxes. he was like a pretty boy giant with a super manly voice. i would have accepted almost any other incarnation of the character.

since it is based on a comic, the visuals are highly stylized and are actually quite enjoyable to watch. this is what i liked about the film. some people go to films just for the special effects but that's not me. this film might be close in that respect although it's not so much about monsters in space and laser beams as much as it is a comic book come to life. doing that does require a lot of effects.