Of course, I still don't think it's for everyone. It's gory. Like, really gory. So gory that you stop noticing the gore. And it's really pretty much just a film about warriors and battle. So if you're not interested in warriors and battle, you'll probably be bored. But I was fascinated. The fight choreography is about as good as I've seen. And they used the slo-mo shots to great effect, so you can see every nuance of the complex moves. It's more like a dance than a fight. And many of the most impressive fight sequences are done in one incredibly long take.
The movie's got a lot of cliches in it, but you kinda have to let that go, given that this is the history from which a lot of those cliches sprang in the first place. And I especially loved that the Spartan women get to have a story and are as hardcore as the men.
The only thing I wasn't really sold on was the narration. I know the bardic narration is integral to the story of the book, but I don't feel like it translated as well to screen. But otherwise, it was fantastic. Also, two hours and forty minutes of muscular men (including my boyfriend Faramir!) running around in leather thongs is a pretty good way to spend the afternoon.
FYI, I got permission from certain parties to unlock my previous post about my trip to L.A. and Bones set visit, in case anyone out there was wanting to read it and couldn't.
