Wow.

First, on an artistic and techincal level, this is the finest merging of CGI and live action I have seen to date, and sets the bar high for future competitors.  I would recommend this movie for the sheer spectacle, if for no other reason.  Visually, the film is wonderfully detailed and imagined, and almost feels like a Boris Vallejo painting come to life. 

*SPOILER ALERT*:  Last night, leaving the theater, I think I heard the only person alive that didn’t know they story, actually admit that to a friend.  In case you, too, are totally ignorant of this event, READ NO FURTHER.

The story itself is a retelling (though it is dangerously close to a ‘reimagining‘) of the Battle of Thermopylae, where 300 Spartans, and some 4000 other greeks from various citiy-states, battled the host of Xerxes, king of the Persian Empire, in 480 B.C.  While the Persians eventually won the day, through shear force of numbers, the moral victory for the Greeks was enormous, and the Persian army was finally defeated in 479 B.C. at Platea, and forced to return home.  This loss was a psychic wound for Xerxes and Persia, and the empire began it’s decline, until it was conquered by Alexander the Great, and his Greek army, in 333 B.C.

Frank Miller’s take on the story makes some rather interesting changes.  The Spartan’s, while still the masters of battle, and hard men and women that they truly were remains intact, he completely wipes away the Helot’s, and their contribution to Spartan society.  It was the lab or of the Helot’s (much like a medieval Serf) that enabled Spartan citizens to devote themselves to the art of war.  The clearest example of Millers changes is the test of manhood that Leonidas faces.  In reality, the test included the undetected murder of a helot, not a wild animal.  Miller’s Spartans are both the ideal warrior, and lovers of freedom and liberty.

The Persians, in contrast, become even darker and more alien to the Greeks than they really were.  Accompanied by mishapen and misfigured creatures, as well as wild beasts, and twisted bodies.  And more jewelry, studs, ring, and piercings than a San Francisco Gay Pride parade.

But the feeling and thrust (sorry) of the story is the same as the history is retells.  A small group of men, holding the line, bleeding the enemy, to buy time for their people, and strike a blow against darkness, and tyranny.

One warning though, for younger folks, and the squemish.  This film does not make any attempt to make any attempt to mask the effects or battle in the days of spear, sword, and arrow.  Blood flies with abandon.

Former Senator, and former -and once again - Actor Fred Thompson is considering tossing his hat into the Presidential ring.

I have no opinion as to whether Fred is serious about running for President (though I believe he has played one on TV or in a movie), or is just trying to get himself into the VP pool.

While he has the conservative credentials, and the face/name value that would serve him well, I do not think he can realistically compete with Rudy or Mitt Romney for the top spot.  He is NOT the next Ronald Reagan, at least in that sense.

He could very well be the next Vice President, though.  Combining his previously noted positives, with his Southern roots, would make him a wonderful balance for either Rudy or Mitt.

No change to the official prediction yet, as Fred has not done more than toe the water to this point.

Stay tuned!