Violence is Cool

Well, movie violence is cool, anyway. Especially when it comes with whacked out painterly images created by CGI and crazy color filters. Maybe it's not so cool when a film like 300 could easily be used for military recruitment, but if anyone thinks that the kind of war being fought in this film is anything like modern war--well, then, such an individual would be classified in my book as too dumb to live, so they might as well go to Iraq. If anyone thinks George Bush is remotely like King Leonidas of Sparta in any way imaginable...well...just... never mind.

So let's assume that everyone knows that modern presidents and kings DON'T lead their men into battle personally. If that's noted, then what we have in 300 is kickass cool violence that is inspirational only in a comic book fantasy world, but inspirational nonetheless. We have awesome sword-and-spear-play, total freaks (including a humpback), an insane villain (Xerxes, king of the Persian empire) who must have died from infection after his 600th or 700th body piercing...and we have Leonidas, that badass Spartan king who has 299 warriors at his back.

And we have yet another impressive film made form a graphic novel.