Many movies try to grab that “cool” or “it” factor through its cast, script or special effects to where it can seem a little forced, but every now and then a film comes along that effortlessly possesses the aforementioned quality in droves. That film is 300.

The film is based on the graphic novel “300″ by Frank Miller, who also saw his creation “Sin City” come to life much like this one, namely in its artistic style. The number 300 refers to the Spartan soldiers that were that were assembled int he Battle of Thermopylae to keep the massive Persian army from advancing into and conquering all of Greece. The movie isn’t an accurate historical representation of the battle as there are a handful of creatures that the Spartans encounter, but the battle did take place.

Relative newcomer Zack Snyder scored this project after only having the remake of “Dawn of the Dead” to his film-making credit, and what a great opportunity he received as this movie should open up a lot of doors for him in the future.

Gerard Butler plays the blood-thirsty King Leonidas, who rules Sparta on and off the battlefield. With his only major starring role as the Phantom in 2004′s “Phantom of the Opera,” Butler should also be a beneficiary of 300 because this really is his movie, aside from the filmmakers themselves, and he steals the show. Leonidas in the only character the audience is told to really care about, aside from his wife, Queen Gorgo, so casting the right guy was important, and they certainly did.

That leads to the film’s biggest flaw which is a lack of fleshed-out characters aside from the few main ones, but that is coincidentally its greatest attribute. You see, 300 is a different type of fantasy-driven epic. There aren’t drawn out scenes of dialogue or fly-by shots of Spartans traveling to their next destination. 300 concerns itself with showing the visceral beauty of battle in a new artistic style as the hour-plus scenes away from Sparta are certainly the reason to see this movie. They could have easily tacked on another 45 minutes of side plots and characterization to give it more of that “epic” feel, but Snyder and crew obviously felt they would let the action speak for itself.

The battle scenes come to life as a theater-sized painting in motion and use contrasting vibrant colors and foreboding tones to give the film its unique polish. Not only are the battle sequences aesthetically stunning, but they are creative too as the 300 Spartan soldiers are outnumbered exponentially by the Persians and must figure out clever ways to make up for their lack of forces. The Spartans are masters of defense and rely solely on each other to survive, which is where the strength of the 300 lie.

My favorite scene was of course one of those great battle sequences where Leonidas breaks away from the 300 and causes a little havoc on his own. The camera scrolls horizontally as Leonidas moves forward on the battleground, dispatching of his enemies in a combination of slow motion and real time effects. Many of the fight scenes use this technique and it gives the action scenes that little extra bit of brutality…or beauty.

The varying music styles used throughout the battle scenes give some of the battles a different feel, whether its accompanied by industrial metal or the more traditional fantasy-themed score. The music is the final touch of creating a true piece of art on the battlefield.

Similar to “Gladiator,” Snyder, Miler and Butler created one of those easily accessible “guy films” that capitalizes on what male moviegoers like to see. Great action, an easily followed plot, and lots of other “guy moments” are why this movie has done so well at the box office and DVD sales.

Like the Spartans, 300 is very much a “what you see is what you get” kind of film. A movie doesn’t always have to have a message, underlying theme or an unexpected plot twist to give the audience that “Ah ha!” moment, if it does the other things correctly. The film absolutely oozes with that “it” factor and tickets sales have shown that audiences can expect to see more of 300′s artistic styles and direction in the movies to come.

Rating: 9.5

This review was written by Dustin Freund in The Daily Star-Journal of Warrensburg, Mo. in 2007.