Wow. That was the one word that came to mind as the blood splattered credits began to roll at the end of 300. This was a movie that was firing on all cylinders, delivering an adrenaline pumping, stylistic, intensely cinematic experience.

It is the next step in cinema style, the gorgeous union of live action and computer generated surroundings, right alongside the pioneering Sin City and Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, which can possibly be traced all the way back to Tron. Zack Snyder has delivered a visionary film that will grab you by the eye sockets and demand your full attention for two hours. Beyond the technique, there is a story that is what myth and legend is made of.

I have never read Frank Miller's graphic novel, upon which this is based, nor have I seen the 1962 film 300 Spartans. I also have little (meaning zero) knowledge of the real event, aside from knowing that it was a real event. One thing that is important to know going in is that this is not, nor was it meant to be, a historical document. If you go into this thinking that you will be seeing a true life historical epic, you are sure to be disappointed, and possibly even offended by the oft times cartoonish portrayals. There may be some elements of fact blended into the fiction, but it is not the other way around.

300 plays out a grand tragedy, a tale of heroism, fighting in the face of insurmountable odds for what you believe in. It never falters, it never wavers, it knows what it wants to do and it runs headlong into the breach. It was a fight to defend their way of life, if I can be allowed to quote the name of a forthcoming movie whose title fits this film, Live Free or Die Hard.

King Leonidas was not about to let his people be taken into a life of slavery or worse under Persian rule, he did the only thing he could. He took the bravest of his warriors and led them into a glorious battle, a valiant, yet futile, attempt to hold back King Xerxes' horde.

Zack Snyder has infused great vision and bloody delicious style into every frame. The film was shot almost entirely on soundstages, in front of green and blue screens. There is such care put into each and every frame, it is dynamic, it is larger than life, and it is violent. This is a film that is pure cinema, it is something that could not be done on practical locations, yet I never found the look distracting — in fact, quite the opposite. The film started, the title card flashed and I was thrust into this other world, a world where the right were just, the bad were bad. There was a lot going on in the look, and the surface of the story is simple, yet do not be tricked into thinking that this a simple story. It is laced with emotion and political subtext.

The movie plays out like a grand myth — this is how legends are born. The stories of heroes are told, passed down, and used as a point of inspiration for the people. It could be seen as a form of propaganda — that's what these passed down tales of heroism boil down to, don't they? This story is no different, it's an actual event that is blown up to gigantic proportions, exaggerated to the point of the grand effect of inspiration. It is in that where everything falls into place.