Houdini's Magic Movie Ticket

I finally watched "300," and boy was it good. Although, I have to admit there were a couple things I found ...disappointing.

First off, waiting so long to watch such a huge movie probably isn't a good idea from an enjoyment perspective. It is economically sound (i.e., why pay to see a film when you can watch it for free on TV a year later), but there was some definite loss of suspense. The film was heavily marketed, and so I was familiar with the catchphrase, "This -- Is -- SPARTA!!" Plus, I'd seen the "South Park" spoof version, and a bunch of fan-made goofball videos online that feature the main character's trademark facial expressions.

So when the movie finally got to the "This IS SPARTA!!" moment, I struggled to suppress the memories I had accrued of the moment's outline, in an effort to preserve the tension and suspense.

Another thing I felt mildly let down about was the action. I felt that the film was going to be heavily, heavily action oriented. The ads seemed to all say that "300" was going to be full of action sequences, guys killing each other left and right. And that did happen at times. But largely, the film was story-based, about how the king grew up, the days leading to conflict, how he fought to hold his ground in the face of overwhelming odds, and how people he and his wife thought they could trust turned out to be enemies in disguise. I did enjoy the story, but I realize now that for most of the film I was waiting for some crazy jaw-dropping action sequence to live up to the bluster of the marketing. I guess the action scenes did, but it was kind of subdued... It was like, "Sure, the guy's head fell off, but that's not why we're here. We're here... for the story."

It reminds me of "Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco." I had seen a trailer or theatrical preview in which the dog voiced by Michael J. Fox grabbed a hot dog from a vendor. That scene enticed me into watching the film, and I was disappointed to see that the specific hot dog scene wasn't included. I hate it when ads make something seem like one thing and it turns out to be different. It's like they lie from time to time.

Anyway, "300" really was great, but struck me as subtly different from the months-old ad campaign. But I guess that doesn't matter anymore, does it?

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