300: Rise of an Empire

I usually just include a film's poster with my reviews; but, this time I decided to feature the best part of 300: Rise of an Empire - Eva Green. To begin with, do you see that bad-ass and haute couture costume? She has tons of them in the film! My dream New York wardrobe would be her entire set of costumes from the film. But, goth-punk-rock epic outfits aside, Eva is also the stand-out performance in this standard, action film. The choice to have her as a strong, blood-thirsty, and cutthroat general is a genius choice that makes the whole premise a little less boring and "done." However, her excellent character also confuses the plot a bit. The combination of her being the most interesting person in the film with the fact that she's given a tragic backstory, makes it difficult to hate her as the villain of the film. You know who you're supposed to cheer for - the Greeks - but, it's kind of more fun to root for her. She takes what she wants, and while she may not be the ultimate strategist, she can recognize intelligence and manipulate people. 

Besides Eva, this was a weak sequel to 300. All the slow-motion blood splattered across the screen that was innovative and exciting in the original, now seems cheesy and overdone. The plot timeline jumps to before 300 takes place, after it takes place, and while it's taking place - leaving you feeling like you're watching an unimportant battle and missing the fun. Themistokles, the main Greek general, is a perfectly fine leader and main character, but he does not grip your heart like Gerard Butler did in the original. He often seems unsure and unhappy with what he's doing, only making you cheer for Eva more. The other two small, bright spots are Lena Headey (because she's my girl from Game of Thrones) and Jack O'Connell. O'Connell's character isn't particularly interesting, but I love Cook from Skins, so I cheered for him anyway. All and all, not the epic story I was hoping for, but way more high fashion than I expected. 

If you want to see more of Eva's costume's click here!