300: Rise of An Empire (2014) Review

After the massive success of ‘300’ it was only inevitable that there’d be a follow-up. However, it took some time to do. Especially since Zack Snyder went on to helm the DC universe for Warner Bros during the 2010’s. He did manage to stay on as Exclusive Producer though.

I wasn’t even aware of the sequel until sometime after I had watched the original ‘300’ film and it doesn’t disappoint.

The story starts off with King Darius (Igal Naor) leading his Persian army against the Greeks in battle in the Battle of Marathon in 490 BC. It is the first time the Persians have invaded Greece. Athenian General Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) fights against the Persians on the shores.

The Greeks bravely (and brutally but effortlessly) beat back the Persians and win the first round in the battle. Seeing his opportunity, Themistocles slays the Persian General from where the General is; on his ship watching the battle from a supposed safe distance. That is until King Darius is taken out by a very well aimed arrow from Themistocles.

King Darius is mortally wounded in front of his son Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). Xerxes tries to save his father but it is too late; he is already dying. Themistocles is later told by his heart that it was a mistake to kill Darius and not Xerxes.

Back in his own kingdom King Darius finally dies as Xerxes and his commanding naval officer Artemisia (Eva Green). Darius warns Xerxes to leave the Greeks alone but of course, Xerxes doesn’t listen to his dying father. Instead, he listens to Artemisia who tells him that King Darius’ last words are not a warning but a challenge. A challenge that Xerxes accepts readily.

Upon its release, ‘Rise of An Empire’ got mixed to positive reviews. Like its predecessor, ‘Rise of An Empire’ was praised for its stunning visuals and slow motion action scenes.

Personally I enjoyed everything about this film. Some of the original cast from ‘300’ such as Lena Headey and David Wenham also return to reprise their respective characters from the previous film. Sadly not returning was Gerald Buttler (despite some of the flash-backs which was unused footage from ‘300’)…the only complaint that I had about this film!

The acting in ‘Rise of An Empire’ is also fantastic. Eva Green nails it as Artemisia and Sullivan Stapleton as Themistocles almost makes up for Gerald’s absence.

My only issue with the film was the fact that it kept jumping to before, during and after the events of ‘300’ which can be confusing if you’re not too familiar with ‘300’ before watching ‘Rise of An Empire’.

Over all, a very bloody but worthy sequel to ‘300’ and I’m looking forward to see if they might do anymore ‘300’ films in the future.