Sometimes in film we can disregard certain aspects of what makes a film good simply because it is made up with other aspects of the movie. For example, the movie The Kingsman is one of my favorite action movies, and while it isn’t exactly a deep and complex story, it’s hilarious dark style captures your attention and makes you want more. The film 300 doesn’t have a hilarious dark style, or the best storyline, but instead a beautiful comic book feel that makes it seem like you’re reading a graphic novel in screen form.

In this film, “In 480 B.C. a state of war exists between Persia, led by King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), and Greece. At the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas (Gerard Butler), king of the Greek city state of Sparta, leads his badly outnumbered warriors against the massive Persian army. Though certain death awaits the Spartans, their sacrifice inspires all of Greece to unite against their common enemy.” (Rotten Tomatoes)

One of the most noticeable aspects of this film is the cinematography. Every shot is so perfectly planned out with not only framing but also color, shapes, and shadows. All of this blends together to create a contrast so strong that it has never truly been seen in film before. The deeply dark outside world compared to the bright yellows and reds of the Roman soldiers make every shot stand out.

The interesting thing is that it’s not exactly set in reality. This allows it to bend the rules of physics and fighting to make the action scenes that much cooler. This relates back to the comic book style of overdoing everything that makes this film so unique. If you’ve seen any other Zach Snyder films, (for example, “Watchmen”) you will also see this unique dark style that defines his films.

So if you are a fan of action movies, or just love good cinematography, and are willing to put aside the simple storyline, this movie will be an absolute treat for you.