Review: ‘Rise of an Empire’ is the sequel ‘300’ fans have been waiting for

Posted on March 21, 2014

When director Zack Synder’s highly stylized, highly violent “300” hit theaters in 2006, it wasn’t the first action film to use entirely green screen techniques to fill in the backgrounds around its actors, but it was one of the first movies to pull it off really well.

And now we have a legitimate successor to “300,” its long-awaited sequel, “300: Rise of an Empire.” Even though it’s not directed by Synder, he remains on board as producer and co-writer.

Bigger, broader and bloodier than the original, “300: Rise of an Empire” somehow manages to capture the style and action of the first film, and dials everything up a notch or three, making it one of those rare sequels that’s not only as good as its predecessor, but may even be better.

“300: Rise of an Empire” is bloody, violent, loud, unrealistic, sure of its own style, and exactly what fans of the first film have been waiting eight years
for.

The film is rated R for strong sustained sequences of stylized bloody violence throughout, a sex scene, nudity and some language.

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