300:of decapitated bodies & flying blood drops.....

This is yet another sadistically satisfying movie to be released in recent times ! It was my 2^nd gore fest in two weeks after Apocalypto . The movie , as everyone knows , is based upon the granddaddy of gore , Frank Millers graphic novel . So I was waiting to watch this one from the day I first learned about it .

Coming to the plot , it is basically about the battle of Thermopylae , where a handful of Spartans led by King Leonidas bravely fought & died against a massive Persian army . Anyone whoever is interested in history will know about this war & also other Greeko-Persian conflicts . So the plot is actually simple . The USP is not in the plot , but in the execution . It retains the comic book feel , but yet pleases your eyes . The aesthetically flying drops of blood & the human organs satisfy all the sadist movie buffs . Cinematography & visual effects are brilliant throughout the movie . The lead characters have come up with some great performances . Gerard Butler looks & acts like a real Spartan . But I was more impressed by Lena Headey who makes her presence felt in a male dominant war movie . The crowd roars in appreciation when she kills the traitor to take her revenge . Zack Snyder has ably directed the movie with blending the best aspects of all other movies of such genre .

Having said all these , the flip side of the film is the partial treatment of the story .

• Only Spartans are shown as real heroes & other Greeks as cowards

• Xerxes looks like an eunuch , which is not acceptable at all

• The Persians are shown as blood thirsty monsters with grotesque faces

  • while the truth is that everyone did the same thing in those times , Greeks did it to Troy & were going to do the same to Persia after a century under Alexander

So the film is having it's share of controversies . But anyway it is a well made period action movie & is based on a fictitious graphic novel rather than real history books . So if you can keep your history lessons aside for a couple hours & can enjoy the gore , it is worth a try .

Apocalypto:I watched it twice

Well….this is not for Rajshree , K Jo & Yashraj fans . I’m sure most of the criticism have come from that front . It is for the ones who loved Kill Bill , adored Saw & went gaga over Sincity . Also those who are allergic to subtitles should stay away as the entire movie is in Yucatec Mayan . Credit goes to Mel Gibson who before this has done an equally gory Passion of Christ in Aramaic to maintain authenticity .

To start with , let me give you a small summary .There is a small Mayan village in the midst of dense Yucatan forests dwelled by Jaguars & Tapirs . They spend their life happily hunting in the jungle & expects the same to continue till eternity . But soon the tragedy strikes , a pack of warriors suddenly attacks the village , massacres half of them & imprisons the rest after a bloody ambush . Then begins a fatal & painful journey & finally they arrive in a huge Mayan city . There they finally discover the reason of their imprisonment . They were about to be sacrificed to quench the thirst of the great God Kukulkan to save the decaying civilization threatened by plague and other epidemics . The events unfold quickly after this , the hero of the story , Jaguar Paw , escapes from the tyrants & then begins a relentless & breathtaking chase through the treacherous Yucatan terrains full of jungles , marshes , waterfalls .
I won’t disclose the climax , but I can assure you that it is nail biting & engrossing . Coming back to the qualitative aspects of the movie, it is a trademark Mel Gibson flick with plenty of action & bloodshed . But as an accomplished filmmaker he never lets the story to be overshadowed by action . The sets , costumes & makeup etc are very authentically done . The medieval chase sequence with robust men running barefoot will beat any modern one involving cars & aircrafts . The background music is haunting & has an Indian touch . The crude humours , specially the one involving Tapir balls complement the dark mood of the movie well . The new actors namely Rudy Youngblood as Jaguar Paw & the beautiful Dalia Hernandez as his wife have done a commendable job .

Having said all these , the movie has also had its share of controversies like any other Gibson film . Specially distortion of Native American history & depiction of Mayans as a brutal & pervert tribe has raised concerns . Because the kind of human sacrifice it has shown , is more close to the Aztecs than the Mayans . Also it shows Spanish conquistadors arriving at the end as if they were angels of peace . But the fact is that the Columbus’s , Pizzaros & Cortezes were no less brutal . They utilized their advantage of having guns & annihilated all the Indian Civilizations namely Mayan , Aztec & Incas .

So this is where the film falters a bit . But I will still give it four out of five as reconstructing a civilization that was lost 500 years ago is no child’s play . I watched it twice in the multiplex & would advice you to do the same .