Broken Frontier

Movie magazines and newspapers are abuzz over Warner Bros. and Zack Snyder's 300, based on Frank Miller's graphic novel. The movie debuts in theatres across the US today.

Today

Few foes face '300'
Variety
Just how many B.O. bucks can Warner Bros.' stylized battle pic "300" pillage this weekend?
Based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, movie has certainly galvanized Internet fanboys, and Miller began a solid track record with his previous pic, "Sin City" -- April's biggest ever R-rated opening at $29.1 million.

But "300" has also somehow piqued the interest of the intelligentsia: The New York Times ran a news piece this week debating whether the latest project by "Dawn of the Dead" helmer Zack Snyder subtextually critiques -- or kowtows to -- American foreign policies under the Bush administration.

Based on such wide-ranging reactions, the bloody, R-rated film, which depicts the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, has the potential to cross over from the Miller faithful.

'300' bow anything but spartan
Hollywood Reporter
Warner Bros. Pictures' "300" bows today, and the fanboys can hardly contain themselves. The hyperstylized, ultraviolent film from director Zack Snyder has created so much advance buzz that all the other Hollywood studios have left it alone for the weekend, setting the stage for the film to dominate the boxoffice in a big way.

The question is how big is big for the movie, which is set in 480 B.C., when Sparta's King Leonidas led 300 of his warriors against the Persian army in the Battle of Thermopylae.

Battle of the Manly Men: Blood Bath With a Message
New York Times
“300” is about as violent as “Apocalypto” and twice as stupid. Adapted from a graphic novel by Frank Miller and Lynn Varley, it offers up a bombastic spectacle of honor and betrayal, rendered in images that might have been airbrushed onto a customized van sometime in the late 1970s. The basic story is a good deal older. It’s all about the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, which unfolded at a narrow pass on the coast of Greece whose name translates as Hot Gates.

'300': It's quite a number
USA Today

War and ink
Michigan Daily

Stunning scenes of ancient war stem from graphic-novel roots
Cleveland Plain Dealer
Earlier this week:

Giving '300' movie a comic-book grandeur
LA Times

That Film’s Real Message? It Could Be: ‘Buy a Ticket’
New York Times

Projection Booth: No Battle Here — '300' Will Triumph Over 'Hogs'
MTV.com

An epic tale, told '300' strong
USA Today

'300' makes leap from graphic novel to big screen
Elmira Star-Gazette

'300' an epic film sensation
Jam! Showbiz

Rivers of Blood, Oceans of Nair
Seattle Stranger