Thermopylae. Of course, I know you don't go to movies like this to learn about history .Sorting out from their defeat at Marathon, the new Persian emperor Xerxes decides to take revenge in the form of a large seaborne invasion of Greece. His main admiral is the incredibly sexy but brutal Artemisia, who is Greek born but was saved when she was a little girl by a Persian and has lived in the Persian court ever since, thirsting for revenge against her native land. The Greek side, on the other hand is commanded by the brave, honest Athenian Themistocles.As Themistocles, Australian actor Sullivan Stapleton is fine, though he lacks somewhat the charisma Gerard Butler showed playing Leonidas in the first film. But Eva Green as Artemisia is magnificent, magnetic, by far the most charismatic character of the film. Rodrigo Santoro is back as a very fantastic Xerxes. Lena Heady reappears briefly as Gorgo, Queen of Sparta. There are very fine action scenes involving naval battles, but the movie's best scene has Artemisia bringing Themistocles to her boat to ostensibly discuss peace, but it all ends up in a heated sexual rump.

are. I could watch the slo-mo sequences all day. Overall, my friends that I went with and I, are extremely satisfied.

movie in 3D.I want to mention that THIS MOVIE IS A SIDE-QUEL, which is brilliant and creative. It gives another meaning to what really happened from another point of view. The first thing that gave me chills or goose bumps strong ones , was the great, great, great soundtrack! I have never heard a soundtrack like this in my whole life, and trust me, I've heard lots of other soundtrack. This soundtrack is perfect, it hits at the right moment and highlights the battles, the characters and dramatic moments. The second thing that attracted my attention were the characters, especially Artemisia Eva Green . The actors really pulled out the strings, by entering into the characters skin. We can see that clearly. Another thing that I realized at the end of the movie, was that I didn't even had a chance to relax or to breath, because it captured my attention, I was not bored at all; only a few movies deliver this experience for those who are not blind . I don't think that I need to mention the graphics, or how great are the effects of this movie, because, as the title says, graphics were " Excellent"!Still, what would be a movie without a good storyline, right? As mentioned at the beginning of this review, this movie is a side-quell and from my point of view, it highlights the villain character now, because in the first movie, everything was about the 300 army.I suggest that everyone should go and watch this movie, in 3D. I haven't seen a movie like this from a long time; probably will watch it again soon xD. I hope you guys enjoyed this review. As you have seen, it does not include spoilers, not even a single clue about the action of this movie. If I could, I would rate this movie 10+ and probably create a monument.

battle scenes.And whilst 300 had plenty of fantastic battle scenes, Rise has some equally fantastic naval battle scenes. Ships wrecks, beheadings, one on ones, and battles were all awesome and entertaining. Watching Themistocles engage in naval tactics was quite fun to watch. The one on one or multiple combats were a bit better than the original. I found them rougher and just more fun to watch. Eva green as Artemisia was amazing. She was terrifying at times and great fun to watch. However, I did find a few scenes felt out of place and unnecessary. In saying that, the confrontations Themistocles and Artemisia more than made up for it. The ending of the movie was satisfying and to repeat myself, so was the final battle scenes. They were incredibly fun to watch. A very entertaining movie, especially since I was lucky to be able to watch them back to back on the big screen.

becoming the GodKing of Persia were cool but might be a bit confusing as it wasn't always obvious that these were flashbacks in the current story.Sullivan Stapleton as Themistokles did well, not Gerard Butler though. Lena Headey as Queen Gorgo was again a graceful power lady, GoTh made her even stronger in character. Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes is again hot, especially as his younger self. Eva Green as Navy Admiral Artemisia was one mean, bad lady, strong like in Kingdom of Heaven and occasionally I was more on her side than on the Greek's ... and her costumes are just ... fantastic!If I could rate half points, it would rate it 8,5 because 300 was in my opinion stronger, funnier and more dramatic but 9 rates are for films that I will see again ... and I will see this one again, mainly due to Artemisia, she was awesome.Ps If you don't like bloody scenes, it might be not your type of film

to be different.He held my attention and his final speech was great for motivating his men in his admission of error and asking for their support as free men. In a world of generic speeches, playing the humility card was refreshing and inspiring.The action scenes were just amazing and allowed you to strategically see the battlefields or seas . Eva Green's character was great but I don't feel she 'stole' the movie. There has to be foils and opposites to characters so whereas as she was scene chewing, Themistokles brooded heroism.I really liked how it played out before, during and after the Thermopylae sp battle making this feel like another part of the tale rather than a sequel. The soundtrack for this so wonderfully complimented all of the actions scenes and I cannot wait to get it on disc. Currently listening to it on YouTube and it's still impressive.A fabulous, wildly entertaining film that I will have to see again at the cinema. I pray that it does well enough to lead to a final instalment that is as well put together as this film.

for the second take on the Persian take over is Athens and its people. The men are not as perfectly ripped as the Spartans. The soldiers are made up of various sized men but there's still a great amount of shiny muscle and not nearly as romantic in appearance as the perfect Spartans.The sex scene is more sadomasochistic and less love making. The passion between "King Leonidas" and his queen in "300" is filled with affection and attachment whereas the scene in "300: Rise of an Empire" is riddled with force, power and control. The sexual tension in both scenes are similar in sexual tension but both portray a very different tone, one more romantic than the other.The lighting is impeccable and the story lent well to the way in which the 3D was utilized. Instead of aspects 'popping' out at you they seemed to go deep. The landscapes had so much depth that it was hard not to make the correlation between the depth "300: Rise of an Empire" was reaching to in terms of the Persian take over. As it was not the next installment of "300" but more insight into the original story, as the story goes deeper than Sparta and the army of 300. Eva Green is outrageously good and compelling to watch and to some degree is the "Leonidas" of "Rise of an Empire". Not to say that Sullivan Stapelton was overshadowed but his role was more meticulous and thought out, very much like the Queen in "300". The two pull the opposite sides of a war story firmly together. Not to mention how smoking hot both of them are.Like the first, "Rise of an Empire" is undoubtedly clothed in beauty, from the moonlighting to the muscled bodies, the supple breasts to the eloquent sprays of blood, the film is about an aesthetic which is part of the story. Is it masking a lack of story? definitely not, it is the story. "300" was ground breaking at the time of release, "Rise of an Empire" merely perfects that first step into a world of a different, and maybe more enigmatic, way of story telling. 7.5/10

the original film, where the 300 Spartans went to battle the Persian army, Themistocles is forced to make an alliance of Athens with Queen Gorgo Lena Headey and Sparta as he leads as admiral the small amount of ships against the Persians, and there is some help from the surviving Dilios David Wenham along the way, but Xerxes still reigns supreme on land and sea. The 300 Spartans are of course defeated, but hope remains as the soldiers at sea do manage to survive the numerous attacks and eventually outnumber the opposing army, and the vicious Artemisia is finally overpowered by Themistocles, and she sees Xerxes order retreat before she dies, the end of the film sees the alliance continue as the next battle on land begins. Also starring Jack O'Connell as Calisto, Callan Mulvey as Scyllias, The Tudors' Hans Matheson as Aesyklos, Andrew Tiernan as hunchback Ephialtes and Andrew Pleavin as Daxos. Stapleton isn't as charismatic as Gerard Butler was but is good enough, the returns of Headey and Wenham are terrific, and Santoro is still booming as the Persian leader, but for me the best performance and who stole the show was Green who was such a savage and blood-thirty villain, he finest moment is beheading a man right in front of a crowd, kissing the severed kiss, and then tossing it away. The references back to and incorporating the original film are clever, it is interesting to see the flashbacks explaining more about previous events and characters, and I can see why critics compare to something like Game of Thrones, with the ambitious use of sex and violence, this film definitely seems slightly more high scale to the previous, with brilliant special effects, and the 3D element is a good selling point to see blood spewing and limbs severed, a fantastic follow up historical action adventure. Very good!

King Leonidas sacrifice. Overall, it is good to watch in IMAX- 3D. Hope the next sequel will have an effective star cast.