300: Rise of an Empire
Dir: Noam Murro
2014
***
300: Rise of an Empire is a prequel of sorts to 2007's original 300 directed by Zack Snyder. It delves into the origins of Xerxes, the God-like King of Persia and one of the best screen bad guys of resent years and the woman who made him who he is, Artemisia, played by Eva Green in a particularly impressive performance. The impact of the first film could never be matched but I thought Rise of an Empire was a little smoother than the original, a bit darker and different enough to stand on its own merits. The sea battles were immense and the action well balanced, I thought the CGI had improved hugely and in my opinion it is the greater film visually. However, as good as the baddies were, I didn't feel as connected with the good guys and it did get a little bit samey. Still a great film that deserves more credit than it received on release.