Was it too much to expect better things from a 300 sequel that didn't really need to exist in the first place? Perhaps, but that didn't stop hordes of people from getting super excited at the mere prospect that a follow-up to Zack Snyder's immensely popular tribute to the wonders of CGI from way back in 2007 was in the works. 300: Rise Of An Empire, then, is probably about as good a sequel as one could have expected for this franchise; and yet it's hard to escape the feeling that it could have been a lot better with a few minor tweaks here and there. Though 300 clung to a fairly thin plot, Rise of an Empire attempts no such thing... and that's kind of where the movie lets itself down most. Despite the fact that 300 was a movie about people fighting each other in slow-motion, there was still an interesting narrative driving the story. Empire is more like a video game - happy to exist as a 100 minute tapestry of blood and gore. Eva Green's Artemisia makes the movie watchable enough, however, and if you want a film to zonk out to, this one fits the bill. A shame it wasn't better thought through.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
