After the glorious slaughter and immortalization of Leonidas and his 300 men at the battle of Thermopylae (as seen in 2006’s 300), it falls to Themistokles (Sullivan Stapleton) to unite all of Greece and lead a charge that will change the course of the war. All he has to do is stare down a million strong army, battle inclement weather, a vengeful Greek turned Persian commander (Eva Green), and the God-king himself, Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). Simple.

Based on the (unpublished graphic novel) Xerxes, Rise of an Empire is a bloody, violent, over the top spectacle of blood and iron. Dropkicking history right in the face, favouring gratuitous blood and sex, it’s primal, rough and absolutely fantastic. Stapleton more than overshadows Gerard Butler’s Leonidas, as a hard man forced to make even harder decisions, with Eva Green stealing the show as the terrifying, beautiful and vicious Artemisia, commander of the Persian fleet and the real power behind the throne of Persia.

Newcomer director Noam Murro impresses (his only previous directing credit is 2008’s Smart People with Ellen Page), ably taking Snyder’s place behind the camera. It’s going to have its detractors, and it’s by no means a perfect movie, but damn it’s fun.

Just don’t go in expecting a history lesson.

– Donal O’Connor

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