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“300: Rise of an Empire,” told in the breathtaking visual style of the blockbuster “300,” is a new chapter of the epic saga, which takes the action to a new battlefield—the sea.
The story pits the Greek general Themistokles against the massive invading Persian forces, ruled by the mortal-turned-god Xerxes, and led by Artemisia, the vengeful commander of the Persian navy.
Knowing his only hope of defeating the overwhelming Persian armada will be to unite all of Greece, Themistokles ultimately leads the charge that will change the course of the war.
In 2006 director Zack Snyder brought to the world a brutal and bloody visual feast that became a box office smash and made Gerard Butler a star. When I heard that there was to be a sequel I felt indifferent to the prospect as the first one ended just right and as a complete story. Well I'm glad to report after watching the stunning Blu-ray of 300: Rise of an Empire last night that producer Snyder working with new director Noam Murro have crafted an "equal" as they call it in the bonus features that showcases brilliantly staged battles that are thrilling to watch. Most of the major action takes place at sea and audiences have never seen battles like these before.
Greece is lead by politician and great warrior Themistokles who is played with charm and power by Sullivan Stapleton. The best performance though has to go to Eva Green as the vengeance seeking and bloodthirsty Artemisia. She is just as brutal and skilled with a blade as the men she commands. She is evil with a back story that does add a little sympathy but not enough to make her weak looking. The film follows these characters story as the events that took in place in the first film are happening simultaneously. We see several familiar characters return and some fun callbacks to the first one. Lena Headey returns as Queen Gorgo and David Wenham Dillios. Rodrigo Santoro also returns as the persian God Xerxes and to see how he turns from mere mortal man into a God is quite interesting.
I highly recommend this film to anyone that enjoyed 300 or just a great action pic in general. 9/10
300: Rise of an Empire arrives on Blu-ray with a 1080p transfer in the aspect ratio of 2.40:1 - The movie is visually breathtaking and this presentation does it justice. Detail is off the charts with every single hair, thread of clothing, cut and slash of the blade, grain of wood on the beautifully simple Greek ships, and the weapons and armor shown in razor sharp detail. Black levels are sumptuously rich and inky. Shadow delineation is solid. Colors range from the brilliant gold on Xerxes wardrobe to the cold green and blue seas. The gallons of blood splash across the screen with deep, dark plasma. There were no signs of edge enhancement or visual noise. 10/10
Audio is provided by a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 track. - From the opening deep bellows of the score to the enveloping battles this is an all out aural assault. Bass is powerful yet tight and precise. When ships are blown to bits it felt like the walls of my house would cave in. Dialogue is crisp and clear as was Queen Gorgo's narration. Surrounds are active for the entire run time. From the creaks and cracks of the ships coming from all around you to the detailed sound of sweat droplets moving through the air of battle I felt part of the action. The few quiet moments create a wonderful sens of atmosphere with beautifully placed environmental effects like waves crashing in the distance or the light breeze of the night air. This disc is going to be one of my top demo discs for the future 10/10
* The 300 Effect - A fine collection of featurettes that look at how the filmmakers came up with a way to continue the story to creating a new visual style but keeping it near the look of the original film. Cast and crew participate in interview clips. There is no play all feature unfortunately.
- 3 Days in Hell (HD, 7min8sec)
- Brutal Artistry (HD, 9min8sec)
- A New Breed of Hero (HD, 4min49sec)
- Taking the Battle to the Sea (HD,8min52sec)
* Real Leaders & Legends (HD, 22min52sec) Very interesting look at the research that went into the film and also the history of the Greek and Persian legends that the characters are based on.
* Women Warriors (HD, 12min22sec) - Watch Eva Green and Lena Headey train for battle and learn how they were able to portray such powerful women.
* Savage Warships (HD, 10min36sec) - A look into the design of the ships and the strategy to film sea battles with no water.
* Becoming a Warrior (HD, 4min39sec) - Here we get a quick look at the strength and conditioning training the cast had to endure to look so strong on screen.