300: Rise of an Empire is a 2014 American epic historical action film directed by Noam Murro from a screenplay by Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad, based on the comic book limited series Xerxes by Frank Miller. A sequel to 300 (2006), it takes place before, during, and after the main events of that film, and is a fictionalized retelling of the Battle of Artemisium and the Battle of Salamis in the Greco-Persian Wars. The cast includes Lena Headey, Peter Mensah, David Wenham, Andrew Tiernan, Andrew Pleavin, and Rodrigo Santoro reprising their roles from the first film, alongside Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Hans Matheson, and Callan Mulvey.
300: Rise of an Empire was released theatrically on March 7, 2014, by Warner Bros. Pictures. It received mixed reviews, with critics praising the action sequences, music, cinematography, visual effects and Green's performance but criticizing the story, Stapleton's performance, and overstylized gore. The film was a box-office success, grossing $337 million worldwide from a $110 million budget.
Plot Queen Gorgo of Sparta narrates about the Battle of Marathon, in which King Darius of Persia was killed by Themistocles of Athens. Darius's son, Xerxes, witnesses his father's death and is advised to never wage war against the Greeks. Darius's naval commander, Artemisia, persuades Xerxes to become a god and sends him on a journey through the desert. Xerxes reaches a cave and bathes in an otherworldly liquid, emerging as a "God-King". He returns to Persia and declares war on Greece to avenge his father.
As Xerxes' forces advance towards Thermopylae, Themistocles meets with the council and convinces them to provide him with a fleet to engage the Persians at sea. Themistocles travels to Sparta to ask King Leonidas for help but is informed by Dilios that Leonidas is consulting the Oracle, and Gorgo is reluctant to side with Athens. Themistocles reunites with his old friend Scyllias, who infiltrated the Persian troops, and reveals Artemisia was born Greek but defected to Persia after her family was murdered by Greek hoplites. A Persian emissary took her in and trained her, and she eventually rose to become a naval commander. Themistocles also learns that Leonidas has marched to fight the Persians with only 300 men.
Themistocles leads his fleet of fifty warships and several thousand men, which include Scyllias, Scyllias's son Calisto, and Themistocles' right-hand man Aeschylus to the Aegean Sea, starting the Battle of Artemisium. They ram their ships into the Persian ships and attack them before retreating. The following day, the Greeks feign a retreat and lead the Persian ships into a crevice, where they become stuck. The Greeks attack the Persian ships from the cliffs above. Impressed with Themistocles, Artemisia brings him onto her ship and attempts to seduce him to rally the Persian side as her second-in-command, but he refuses her offer.
The Persians attack the Greek ships with tar and flame bombs, but an Athenian kills one of the Persians, who falls into the tar carrying a torch, damaging ships from both sides. Themistocles is thrown into the sea by an explosive carried onboard by a Persian swimmer, nearly drowns before being rescued by Aeschylus, and is by Scyllias's side as he succumbs to his arrow injuries inflicted by Artemisia in echo of King Darius's death. Believing Themistocles to be dead, Artemisia and her forces withdraw. After recovering from his injuries, Themistocles learns that only a few hundred of his warriors and six of his ships survived the disastrous attack.
Daxos, an Arcadian general, tells Themistocles that Leonidas and his 300 men were killed after Ephialtes betrayed the Greeks to Xerxes. Themistocles returns to Athens and confronts Ephialtes, who reveals that Xerxes plans to attack and burn Athens. Ephialtes regrets his betrayal and welcomes death but is spared so he can warn Xerxes that the Greek forces are gathering at Salamis. Themistocles visits Gorgo in Sparta to ask for help, but Gorgo, mourning Leonidas's death, refuses. Before departing, Themistocles urges Gorgo to avenge Leonidas.
In Athens, Xerxes' army is laying waste when Ephialtes arrives to deliver Themistocles' message. Upon learning he is alive, Artemisia leaves to ready her navy for battle. Themistocles inspires all of his remaining forces to continue fighting. The remaining Greek ships charge into the Persian ships, beginning the decisive Battle of Salamis. Themistocles and Artemisia engage in a duel, which ends in a stalemate.
Gorgo arrives at the battle along with ships from numerous Greek city-states including Delphi, Thebes, Olympia, Arcadia, and Sparta, all united against the Persians. Xerxes, watching the battle from a cliff, turns back, acknowledging his naval defeat and continuing the march of his army. Artemisia attacks Themistocles, but he stabs and kills her. Accompanied by Dilios, Themistocles and Gorgo lead the entire Greek army against the Persians.
Cast
Sullivan Stapleton as Themistocles Eva Green as Artemisia Caitlin Carmichael as 8-year-old Artemisia Jade Chynoweth as 13-year-old Artemisia Lena Headey as Queen Gorgo Rodrigo Santoro as King Xerxes Jack O'Connell as Calisto Hans Matheson as Aeschylus Callan Mulvey as Scyllias David Wenham as Dilios Andrew Tiernan as Ephialtes Yigal Naor as King Darius I Andrew Pleavin as Daxos Ben Turner as General Artaphernes Ashraf Barhom as General Bandari Christopher Sciueref as General Kashani Peter Mensah as Artemisia's trainer / Persian messenger Gerard Butler as King Leonidas (archive footage) Additionally, a computer-generated facsimile is used to represent Leonidas in a separate scene. Michael Fassbender as Stelios (archive footage)
Production
Development In June 2008, producers Gianni Nunnari, Mark Canton, and Bernie Goldmann revealed that work had begun on a sequel to 300. Legendary Pictures announced that Frank Miller, who wrote the 1998 comic book limited series on which the film 300 was based, was writing a follow-up graphic novel, and Zack Snyder, co-screenwriter and director of 300, was interested in directing the adaptation, but instead chose to develop and direct the Superman reboot Man of Steel. Noam Murro directed instead, while Snyder produced and co-wrote. The film was centered on the Greek leader Themistocles, portrayed by Australian actor Sullivan Stapleton. During pre-production, the film was titled 300: Battle of Artemisium (although this was widely misreported as "Battle of Artemisia"); the film was retitled 300: Rise of an Empire in September 2012.
Filming Principal photography commenced in early July 2012 at the Nu Boyana Film Studios in Sofia, Bulgaria. Underwater greenscreen scenes were also filmed at Leavesden Studios. On May 10, 2013, it was announced the film's release date would be pushed back from August 2, 2013, to March 7, 2014.
Music
The film's score was composed by Junkie XL, being the first film in an ongoing partnership with Snyder. He attempted to research on the ancient Persian and Greek music instrumentation to match the time period and culture, while also being a fantasy film, he tried to blend the sounds with electronic instruments here and there. The album featuring Junkie XL's score was released by WaterTower Music on March 4, 2014.
Reception
Box office 300: Rise of an Empire grossed $106.6 million in North America and $231 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $337.6 million, against a production budget of $110 million.
In North America, the film opened at number one in its first weekend with $45 million. In its second weekend, the film dropped to number two, grossing an additional $19.2 million. In its third weekend, the film dropped to number five, grossing $8.5 million. In its fourth weekend, the film dropped to number nine, grossing $4.2 million.
Critical response Review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 45% based on 197 reviews, with an average rating of 5/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It's bound to hit some viewers as an empty exercise in stylish gore, and despite a gonzo starring performance from Eva Green, 300: Rise of an Empire is a step down from its predecessor." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 48 out of 100 score, based on 34 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale, down from the A− received by its predecessor.
Several critics compared the film negatively to its predecessor. Todd Gilchrist of The Wrap wrote: "Rise of an Empire lacks director Snyder's shrewd deconstruction of cartoonish hagiography, undermining the glorious, robust escapism of testosterone-fueled historical reenactment with an underdog story that's almost too reflective to be rousing." Nicolas Rapold of The New York Times gave a mixed review: "The naval collisions and melees play out in panel-like renderings that are bold and satisfying for the first half-hour but lack the momentum and bombastic je ne sais quoi of 300." Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter thought it was "more monochromatic and duller in appearance, lacking the bold reds and rich earth tones" of the earlier film. Scott Foundas of Variety gave a positive review: "This highly entertaining time-filler lacks the mythic resonances that made 300 feel like an instant classic, but works surprisingly well on its own terms." Soren Anderson of The Seattle Times thought it "very impressive in its single-minded dedication to creating a moviegoing experience designed to totally engulf its audience". James Rocchi of Film.com gave the film a zero out of ten and called it "a 3D joke".
James Berardinelli wrote, "The movie delivers all the necessary elements but their impact is dull." Joe Neumaier of the New York Daily News thought it looked "like an ashen video game. It's even more muddy in IMAX and 3-D." Colin Covert of the Star Tribune felt it "plays like a collaboration between the Marquis de Sade and Michael Bay. Or maybe the History Channel and the Saw franchise." Guy Lodge of Time Out wrote, "It's flesh and carnage that the audience is here to see, and Murro delivers it by the glistening ton, pausing only for stray bits of backstory." Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post said, "Rise of an Empire is no fun at all – even those famous six-pack abs from 300 seem to be missing a can or two." In a negative review, Drew Hunt of the Chicago Reader wrote: "The slow-motion battle scenes are technically impressive and occasionally elegant, but there's enough machismo here to choke a thousand NFL locker rooms." Richard Roeper called the film "A triumph of production design, costumes, brilliantly choreographed battle sequences and stunning CGI".