After years of fans campaigning for what was dubbed the Snyder Cut, Zack Snyder’s Justice League was released on HBO’s streaming service, and showcased his previously unfulfilled creative vision for the story of DC’s superhero team. More recently, Snyder has directed, written, and produced Netflix’s Rebel Moon movies, which he hopes will become a full-fledged science-fiction franchise. DC and Rebel Moon are not the only franchises he has worked on, though.
A Historian Analyzes The Realism Of 300: Rise Of An Empire
Zack Snyder Co-Wrote And Produced The Sequel
After the success of 300, a sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire, was released eight years later. Snyder co-wrote and produced the sequel while Noam Murro directed it. The story sees the Greeks’ war against Persia’s King Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro) continuing. Lena Headey, David Wenham, and Andrew Tiernan reprise their roles from the first film, while Sullivan Stapleton and Eva Green play new characters. Rise of an Empire‘s box office came to $337 million worldwide compared to the first movie’s $456 million and was not as well-received as its predecessor.
They’re supposed to have run from their camp into battle by running a mile across this plane. Now, many people question this for obvious reasons, and many people have questioned this for centuries. We don’t really believe that people could run that far in full armor in the summer heat and I think that’s what they’re kind of trying to convey, that the Persians were taken by surprise because the Athenians were advancing much faster and going straight into that fight.
They’re trying to convey this idea that the Athenians won the Battle of Marathon through shock tactics. The Athenians didn’t attack them while they were disembarking. They encamped across from them in this plane and sat looking at each other for 10 days.
This is such a bizarre way of depicting Greek equipment. We know very well what kind of equipment they would have carried because they kept on depicting it in on all their art and, especially after this victory, they were very proud of depicting themselves the way they looked and depicting the Persians the way they had been defeated. They have little boss shields, which are wrong. The swords are accurate. That sword looks like a very good Greek xiphos. But then they have double-headed axes. They have all sorts of random weapons that have absolutely no place in Classical Greece. Greeks are heavy spearmen, double-grip shields, long spears, heavy armor. The Persians seem to be carrying the khopesh, which is an Egyptian sword. The Egyptians were a big part of the Persian navy, so you might have had some Egyptian marines on board who may have carried these kinds of weapons, but if we assume this is a force of Persians, which the movie wants you to believe, then why are they carrying Egyptian weapons and not Persian ones?
The ancient battle account actually does say that they pursued the Persians to their ships and and they seized some of the ships, so they have these really broad gang planks, which would have been really nice if they had those. I think that would have made things a lot easier. But as far as we know, embarking and disembarking from these ships is actually quite difficult because they’re just sort of beached or just lying offshore.
While this clip is working with a kernel of what we’re told about the Battle of Marathon, basically everything you’re seeing here is complete fantasy, so I would give it a two [out of ten]. One thing I’ll give them is the sheer scale of the kind of violence happening in this battle is something that the Greeks themselves were already wanting to convey. They want us to know that this is a huge thing.
Our Take On Roel Konijnendijk’s Comments
Realism Is Not The Priority In 300: Rise Of An Empire
Even though Zack Snyder didn’t direct 300‘s sequel, the movie still features his penchant for slow-motion, over-the-top action scenes and a darker visual aesthetic. Just like in 300, there is largely an emphasis on style over substance through the lens of an underdog story in which the Greeks defend themselves against the tyrannical Xerxes and his forces. Historical accuracy was never the priority for Snyder when making 300, and it should not be a surprise that it was not a priority in Rise of an Empire.
Why Rise Of An Empire Was Not As Well-Received As 300
The Sequel Could Not Live Up The Original Movie’s Legacy
300 is often considered to be one of Snyder’s best movies. This high bar already made it difficult for Rise of an Empire to live up to the previous movie. The less favorable reception is evident in Rise of an Empire‘s Rotten Tomato scores, particularly a 51% Popcornmeter score compared to 300‘s 89% score. One of the key issues with the sequel is the absence of Gerard Butler’s King Leonidas, who had considerable presence and was the face of the first film.
One of the most prominent criticisms is that Rise of an Empire mimics Snyder’s style but does not execute it as well.
Stapleton’s Themistocles is not considered to be as compelling a protagonist as Leonidas. Many reviews do praise Green’s portrayal of Artemisia while also noting that her performance is not enough to save the movie from its other flaws. One of the most prominent criticisms is that Rise of an Empire mimics Snyder’s style but does not execute it as well. This is one of the dangers that can occur when a different director helms a sequel to a popular movie.
Reviews from critics and general audiences also discuss the plot not being as engaging as in 300 and that it repeats many of the same story beats. Without being able to form a connection to the characters, plot, or filmmaking style, the majority of viewers were left unimpressed by Rise of an Empire, especially when juxtaposed with 300. Almost twenty years later, 300 is still one of Zack Snyder‘s most defining movies, while Rise of an Empire was left impactful.
