I have just watched this movie and oh boy, how unique the cinematography is! Sensual and sexual; bloody with gore; stylish yet raw. Plenty of up-close shots of the characters' faces. Fighting is very MTV-like. The use of extreme contrast: perfect human body vs deformed monsters to represent the mentality of good vs evil; freedom vs slavery; nobility vs sin. East vs West? The ending speech however is rather redundant in length, reminds me of a certain superpower's presidential speech... sounds a bit like propaganda?
If the warrior culture and fighting abilities of the Spartans are anything like those portrayed in the movie, then I can now understand why my history teacher said that Europe till even after the 2nd World War, was fearful of the rise of Macedonia, the rumored descendants of the Spartans. (If I remember my history lesson correctly that is...)
