Customer Ratings & Reviews

I was expecting More. Most sequels are never as great as the original movie, as is the case with this. I was happy to see they kept with the same cinematography as the original 300, and I appreciated most of the sound track. But the Plot was thin, predictable and just not that engrossing. I would recommend it for a rental. Buy not a need to own.

Watched it in 3D and really enjoyed it. Good sequel to 300. I would recommend this to anyone who liked Gladiator.

Not better than the first one, but worth a watch. Pretty good movie.

good movie to watch... .......... .

I went into the theaters with so much excitement for this movie as I'm a huge fan of the first 300 movie. However by the end of Rise of an Empire, I was a little disappointed and felt it didn't live up to the first movie. Rise of an Empire does a great job in tying events from the past and bringing them into the present for the Athenian warriors, taking place before and after the battle of Thermopylae. I felt that these connections made a strong story for the film and it's characters, especially Xerxes. My only one gripe with the movie was with the fight scenes. I felt like the slow motion was better utilized in the first movie and that it was added in the wrong time of each fight sequence in Rise of an Empire. Anyone who was a fan of the first should still see this movie, as it's a good movie, though not as great as the first.

As sequels go, Rise of an Empire does a better job than most. It's not an Aliens-level sequel, but it's definitely a worthwhile watch. If you can separate yourself from the original 300, it's even better, as the crew made an obvious attempt to keep what worked about it, but then distance themselves the rest of the way. The cinematography is great, the 3D does a wonderful job with depth of field, and the CG is, for the most part, every bit what you would expect from a 300 sequel. The film also manages to explain a couple of the plot holes left over from the first film, such as the God King's backstory. That said, it definitely has a few moments that made me go "really?" All in all, though, it was a thoroughly pleasant experience and will certainly get multiple viewings from me.

This movie takes place concurrently where the 300 are defending at Thermopylae in the first movie and after their defeat. If you disliked the first movie because of the bloodiness or lack of historical accuracy then let me save you the trouble and stop here as this movie will be similar, otherwise proceed on. I like the antagonist role of Artemisia and Eva Greene plays it very well. The movie provides a brief good back story on how her character came to be where she commands on the Persian side. The movie also provides some back story on how the Persian king came to power which is nice. On the Greek side is Sullivan Stapleton who plays Themistocles and he too does an outstanding job in his role. This movie covers the naval engagement side that was occurring during and after the fall of Thermopylae. Both sides employ strategy in their efforts to outdo the other on the battlefield, which is another aspect of the movie I like. The naval battles fill the waters with galleys ramming one another, ships sinking, and boarding parties dealing out bloody dismemberings with their swords and axes. The only thing this movie lacked was an epic quote like that from Leonidas in 300 "This is Sparta!".

This isn't a prequel or a sequel, it's a multiquel (term I coined). Why is it a multiquel? The beginning of the film takes place 10 years before the events of 300 (King Diaries of Persia, then Prince Xerxes, is killed in battle by Themistocles). The bulk of this film are the events that happened during the same time as the events in 300 (Xerxes' rise to power and becoming the God-King) while the end of this film is what happened after 300 and sets up the events to come in what is expected as the third and final chapter of 300. This film is a worthy film and GREAT performances from it's two breakout stars, Stapleton (Strikeback) as the warrior hero and commanding Genreral Themistocles and Eva Green (Penny Dreadful, Sin City: A Dame to kill for) who is DELICIOUS as the evil sword wielding warrior vixen Artemisia. Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) reprises her role as Queen Gorgo (wife of King Leonidas, the man who led the 300) as does Rodrigo Santoro (Lost, what to expect when expecting) as the God-King Xerxes.

It has been seven years since the original Zack Snyder 300 hit the big screen and the big question surrounding its belated follow-up was always going to be if the novelty of the look of the film had worn off. It was a worthy concern as it seems every major action film since has if not taken cues from the tone of the color palette and enhanced nature of it all than at least the slo-mo of the action that then speeds up to real time, making the strikes from spear to flesh all the more cringe-inducing. It was something fresh and new at the time, Snyder coming off his big win that was the Dawn of the Dead re-make and taking notes from Robert Rodriguez, but going in a different direction and one that would become more of a cultural mainstay than the more cult-worthy Sin City. Like that graphic novel, 300 was also adapted from a Frank Miller work and while Rise of an Empire doesn't take its marching orders from any pre-written comic book it at least tries to make-up for the lack of originality in the visuals by pushing the narrative to more complicated, layered lengths than the original. While 300 was never a film that needed a sequel and really deserved not to have one as a proper sequel could never be concocted Rise of an Empire ultimately gives us the events that surround the actions of the Spartans as they chose not to cooperate with the rest of Greece to fight off the invading Persians. It comes to light even more than it did in 300 that if the Spartans were anything but brave, they were arrogant and in many ways the events documented in this second film minimize the glory and honor that many in the audience no doubt imagined went along with Leonidas and his brave three hundred's beautiful deaths. They went into battle expecting death, but left their women and children with the likelihood of being turned into slaves by Persians anyway? It doesn't make much sense and ultimately seems selfish in order to adhere to the code of how they were raised than anything resembling bravery, but the good thing of all this is realizing Rise of an Empire stirred some thought in me and invoked a reaction and participation I never expected to have.

Lots of action. Great fighting scenes. Good all around movie.

You can't go wrong by getting this movie. The 3D is real 3D, not the fake conversion that is very unappealing. It one-ups the action of the last movie over and over again. I just wish there were more Leonidas. It's a completely different story, a true sequel, therefore he can't be in it because he didn't make it past the last film, but they show the 300 Spartans in one scene, teasing an awesome flash back, yet it is only a tease. I just thought the updated 3D graphics would have held strong with the old story as well. Still, well worth the money. I think you should get it, unless you are afraid of a little blood haha

The events of this sequel to 300 occur more or less concurrently with the first movie. You get to see some returning people (see how Xerxes comes to be). They mention stuff that is going on in the first 300. If you have a 3D TV, I would definitely recommend this movie as the 3D is pretty top notch. Where the first movie was more or less confined to the Hot Gates and repelling wave after wave of Persian forces of increasing strength and variety, this movie takes place on a grander scale of locales. Not the greatest movie plot- and acting-wise, but the action is fun. So pop some corn and prepare to be entertained.

A long time in coming, this sequel to the original 300 had a lot riding on it. Surprisingly, it had a fairly quiet and quick run in theaters. Nevertheless, "300: Rise Of An Empire" is a solid sequel--filled with the same over-the-top gore and cinematography as its predecessor. And yet, therein lies the problem…we've seen this kind of movie before (most recently in "The Spirit" and "Immortals"), so it's not as fresh. Still, I really recommend this one to fans of the original (and action junkies in general). It's mindless fun, and as long as you don't expect much realism you'll enjoy it. 4/5 stars.

There are times when a movie needs a sequel, there are times when it really doesn't, and then there are times when it needs something that is kind of a sequel and kind of a prequel and kind of something in between. 300: Rise Of An Empire falls into the latter. The Origin Of The God-King, What Happened While The Brave 300 Fought, and What Happened After They Fell, is all covered in this film. Because of this, I feel that the movie is slightly piece-mealed together. They make it work and give you an entertaining story, but it doesn't quite measure up to the power of the original film.

This film is a continuation, in a sense, of the first 300 film. The battles on the film occur at a slightly different time from the original 300 film but the timelines intertwine. The visual style is similar to the first with highly detailed action scenes and a lot of blood spilling. The story rattles off in a different way from the first film to keep the viewer interested. The 2nd disc has about 1 1/2 to 2 hours of extras that give behind the scenes views of the making of the film and the historical background of the film.

To start this doesn't compare to the first one. However it's wrong to compare movies to their predecessors. The first had Leonidas and the 300 which was amazing but look at this movie independently. This movie honestly can be spliced together with the first one and create a grand feature film. It's the other side of the war. The visuals were amazing and the action was on point. You get to see Persia and dive a bit into on Xerxes the God king himself. This is worth a watch and if your a fan of series or comics it's worth having in your collection.

The movie is about Themistocles a Greek admiral who does defeat the Persians at Salamis and some of the Characters did live an die in the battle, but some who died in the movie actually survived the war. Some of the Battle scene's are not realistic and are done to provide "cool" action sequences for audience appeal. The 300 are all dead and have nothing to do with this movie. The battles took place after the defeat of the 300 by the Persians. Athens is destroyed by the Persians, but the Greeks did win the war. History is History the movie is fun.

As much as I like this movie, it still doesn't compare to it's predecessor. The filmography is beautiful and it has a great score. The action is pretty great and it doesn't feel like you really missed much of a step from the first one to this one. Lots of action and blood shed is involved from all sides. It just lacked a little something, not quite sure what that something really is, but it is there. This movie needed just a little something extra to push it into the same realm as 300. Not to take away from this movie, because it is a pretty awesome movie. If you a fan of the original or war movies for that matter you shouldn't be disappointed (given that it is rated R for a reason). I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and it will have a high re-watch-ability factor. I would highly recommend.

I wanted to live this movie because I enjoyed 300 so much. I liked the idea of showing the sea-based battle surrounding the Persian invasion of Greece. However, this film does not inspire with the same magic as the first. The acting was great, the cinematography was outstanding. I just felt the story was too forced... And some parts of the final scene made me want to say "Really?" However, I would not discourage anyone from watching this film. Very well done. Just go in with limited expectations.

Overall, this movie was good; not better than the first, and not worse, just different. While 300 was action driven and contained massive battle sequences, Rise of an Empire was story driven, and contained some prequel elements that filled in some of the who and why. This film was a good movie that will satisfy fans 300, but that can also stand alone. It is definitely worth buying the blu ray combo because it has more special features and also includes an Ultraviolet copy.