Based on the graphic novels of “Sin City” scribe Frank Miller, this historical battle film is an undeniable visual astonishment, yet its look is put into disturbing, bloodthirsty service. Playing with color and light, director Zack Snyder darkens some elements with an oily sheen and lightens others so that they almost seem to glow from within – the result is an amalgam of Greek sculpture and Rembrandt. Suffering, though, is mostly noble and always secondary to the thrill of the kill. If anyone wanted to persuade vulnerable young minds to enter the maw of battle, 300 would make a heck of a recruitment video.
