300: Rise of an Empire - C

Rated R, 103 minutes

Vapid "Rise of an Empire" presents more heavily stylized action

King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro)

"300: Rise of an Empire" is about the ancient war between the Greeks and Persians, though the real battle is style versus substance, with style triumphing mightily over any real depth. A Frank Miller-inspired sequel to the hit 2007 film "300" directed by Zack Snyder (who produces and writes here), that film's gorgeous palette was somewhat new, and by now while it still entertains, it doesn't provide anything fresh. Taking place before, during and after of the events of "300," this film concerns the rise of powerful Persian King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro, from the first film), or the "God King," whose desire to rule the world means he must invade and take over Greece, with his evil ally Artemisa (Eva Green) leading the charge. The only problem is, those bare-chested, six-pack ab Greeks, led by Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton), won't go down without a fight, leading to an epic battle of power, blood and strategy. Directed by Noam Murro, the trashy and modestly enjoyable "300: Rise of an Empire" is loosely-based on Miller's unpublished graphic novel and is mostly a fictional but often exciting retelling of historical events, I'm sure far more entertaining here than it actually played out. Just as the recent flop "Pompeii" proved, don't expect a straight history lesson here, with an exceeding amount of style filling in the gaps for the scattered, sloppy storytelling and characters. Admittedly, some of it is intriguing and entertaining, with the bloody, fast-paced action sequences the most memorable, but everything in between is largely flat and truly just ridiculous (Santoro in particular looks silly prancing around in chains and a gold speedo). Much like other Miller-inspired material (including the upcoming "Sin City" sequel), there's loads of CGI, special effects, handsome actors and bright red blood that looks so dramatic when splattered everywhere you may forget that Gerard Butler was even involved in the first film. What made "300" so cutting-edge seven years ago now seems so unoriginal, and I see this mildly entertaining but mostly forgettable, empty "Rise of an Empire" being a hit, but nowhere near the level of that first blockbuster film.

Wes's Grade: C