“Go tell the Spartans, thou that passest by,
That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.” – William Lisle Bowels (Epitaph of Simonides)
Historical accuracy be damned! A glossy and hypnotic transmogrification of the historic Battle of Thermopylae between the Spartans and the Persians, 300 is a visually stunning blood ballet that is a cinematic triumph of style over substance.
In Zack Snyder’s envisioning of Frank Miller’s graphic novel, Sparta is a land where the men have been moulded in furnace, the women are Venus epitomized and children are taken into military service at the age of seven – but it’s all noble. The Persians on the other hand do not fare that well and have been cast as either blacker than soot, uglier than Predator or seething with homosexual energy (King Xerxes as a towering transvestite). If it weren’t for those eye-popping sequences, this was headed for Mount Camp.
Story of this screen version has the brave King Leonidas of Sparta recruit 300 of his best men (read six-packed jockeyed ab-crunchers) and head off to the afore mentioned pass, to ground the mighty Persians (led by King Xerxes I) to a halt and buy time so that Greeks can amass an appropriate army. The evident outcome is rendered glorious due to the fact that the Spartans are not mere soldiers. They are an intrepid bunch that stare death in the face with a lopsided grin, and profess a fierce loyalty to their king that borders on fanaticism. No retreat, no surrender, no prisoners, no mercy!
Appealing to basically the young male demographics with it’s portrayal of gung-ho heroism and unbridled machismo, the female audience members, though pleased with the men-in-jocks, might be put off by all the gruesome spectacle of slicing, dicing and blood spraying forth as though Pollock were at work. The grisly flourishes alone belittle the likes of APOCALYPTO and THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST combined. In spite of cheesy liners and corny tender moments, film is undeniably powerful and leaves a lasting impression on a viewer’s mind.
Led by Canadian actor Gerard Butler as King Leonidas, cast is mainly newcomers or relative unknowns signed up more for their upper torsos rather than acting chops. Aside from the charismatic Butler (who plays it over the top, but is perfect in his war-cry), Lena Headey is suitable as the curvaceous Queen Gorgo, and Dominic West cashes on his stereotypical visage to play a snake in a man’s tunic. The rest are serviceable.
Director Zack Snyder (DAWN OF THE DEAD) has brought Frank Miller’s novel to life in an impressive and admirable rendition. The rousing musical score complements the proceedings with equal gusto, matched only in spirit by the people behind editing (around 1500 cuts) and camerawork. Visual and SFX are absolutely flawless.
VERDICT: A sweeping spectacular epic!
MPAA RATING: Rated R for graphic battle sequences throughout, some sexuality and nudity.
RUNTIME: 117 mins.
CAST: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West
DIRECTOR: Zack Snyder
“Royal scandal, murder and mayhem,
and much more on the show,
Makers promise a splendid epic,
but deliver only a shadow”
Director-writer Vidhu Vinod Chopra disappoints in one of the year’s most eagerly awaited film. With a storyline that plays out like an epic Greek tragedy rife with scandal, deceit, murder, mayhem, vengeance, and performances that simply beg for awards, Vinod Chopra squanders the opportunity by being self-indulgent and pretentious.
Eklavya is an aging royal guardsman to the now-defunct monarchy of Devigarh, whose nominal head, King Jayawardhan is shown at the onset of reels passionately choking the life out of his ailing wife while his retarded daughter watches in stupefied silence. The Queen dies whispering Eklavya’s name.
Death of the queen signals the return of the prodigal son, Prince Harshwardhan, who learns a secret or two that have been hidden from him since birth. Events are acclerated as greed breeds enmity, and knives are drawn against unsuspecting targets. Deaths are inevitable, and so is vengeance in this dark and brooding tale that feels overdrawn even at a mere 100 minutes.
Two noteworthy scenes - one involving a flying pigeon and a blindfolded Eklavya, and another, the climactic sequence that involves Eklavya, a no-gooder and a moving train, are simply jaw-dropping.
In a film that revolves around Amitabh’s Eklavya, it was highly unnecessary to pepper the remainder of the cast with likes of such talents as Boman Irani, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan etc. But to be fair, the cast have turned in terrific turns despite their brief roles.
Boman Irani as the mad-with-vengeance monarch Jayawardhan delivers the requisite complexity to his role without going overboard. Sanjay Dutt as the lovable cop ACP Chauhar is a riot. Saif Ali Khan is suitable restrained as the conflicted Prince Harshwardhan. Vidya Balan, Jackie Shroff and Jimmy Shergill lend able support.
Now to the major role - Amitabh Bachchan as Eklavya is totally in character from the word go, but has not delivered anything exemplary. He is a veteran of his craft, and as such, plays out his character as required by the script, but there are no individualistic quirks or ticks that would render him unique. He is good but not mind blowing.
Camerawork is exemplary with favourable support from music and art direction. Production values are top-notch. Editing could’ve used a bit of supervising, and the writing could’ve done with a bit of tweaking.
Film has the feel of a Shakespearean play and features heavy exposition that would’ve been at home on a stage rather than the screen.
Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a highly regarded director in Bollywood, and therefore will retain that respect inspite of personal projects like EKLAVYA.
VERDICT: EKLAVYA is not a bad film, but is not a film that I can recommend either.
DURATION: 100 mins.
CAST: Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan
DIRECTOR: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
“Belly full of laughs, awash in a bloody tide,
Tensions create knots, but what a sweet ride!”
Severance is gory, funny, and clever by half. It is what SLITHER was aiming to be, and what HOSTEL should have been. Balancing comedy and horror is not an easy task, but the director does it effortlessly and admirably without venturing into camp.
A British defense company, Palisade Defense, sends a bunch of its employees to a retreat in an east European country, where they are to indulge in some R & R and some team building. The squabbling cluster end up in a hostile territory after their ticked off non-english driver dumps them and takes off. A hike through the woods brings them to a dilapidated lodge that may well be the dwelling of a lurking serial killer.
The motley staff comprise a clueless-but-I-am-in-charge team leader Richard (Tim McInnerny), his butt-kissing subordinate Gordon (Andy Nyman), the resignatory voice of reason Billy (Babou Ceesay), the caustic and defiant Harris (Toby Stephens), the nerdy Jill (Claudie Blakley), the office-hottie Maggie (Laura Harris) and the pot-headed but affable Steve (Danny Dyer).
As if the crappy lodge wasn’t bad enough, the staff are getting picked one by one as somebody has it real bad for Palisade Defense and its employees.
Sequences worth repeat plays - a rocket testing that brings to mind the famous quotes, “I shot an arrow in the air…”, and a fight sequence involving a hunting knife is totally blade-in-cheek.
Film also has a strong message to deliver which it does in big block letters.
The director and one-half of the writing team, Christopher Smith (CREEP), handles the funny, dramatic & horrific moments with aplomb keeping the pacing tight, the tension taut, the tender moments sensitive and the laughs coming at regular intervals. Most of the bellyfuls actually come at tense moments - and to his credit, the director never lets the genres spill into each other (no moment will induce an un-intentioned audience response).
The ensemble cast deliver uniformly able perfomances, with no one trying to overshadow or outshine the other.
Technically, film bears a polished look, and has been superbly lensed, expertly edited, with a dollop of nauseatingly good visual effects and a fantastic score. The opening gory sequence is set to a feel good soundtrack thereby setting the comedic tone for the entire flick.
VERDICT: If you thought SHAUN OF THE DEAD was funny, SEVERANCE is pretty delirious.
MPAA RATING: Not Rated
DURATION: 95 mins.
CAST: Laura Harris, Tim McInnerny, Danny Dyer
DIRECTOR: Christopher Smith
