"If you cannot be saints of knowledge, then, I pray you, be at least warriors... Careless, mocking, forceful - so does wisdom wish us: she is a woman, and never loves any one but a warrior. - 'Thus Spake Zarathustra' by Frederick Nietzsche.

You are invited to carefully peruse and gaze into the Coliseum of the imaginative mind, consider the lush and graphic gladiatorial battle between good and evil. Ancient warriors laugh into the face of death, amidst the oldest creation myths concerned with the eternal dualistic struggle between light and dark. Even today these opposing energies infuse our daily lives and charge us with the necessity of choosing one or the other; from the simplest to the most immense. Do we stick with the lo-fat/cholesterol, free range, organic diet to remain slim, or blow everything away and eat the incredibly decadent triple chocolate extravaganza, and become enslaved, shackled and obedient to the infernal God of gluttony? Republican or Democrat? Capitalism or Communism? Bible or Quran? Death penalty or Liberal re-education and integration? Levi's or Wrangler's? And the list goes on and on, from the mundane to the exotic and extremely eccentric. At Thermoplye in 480 BCE the fight was between a localized democratic austerity and a world dominating religious mysticism, the Spartan king Leonidas attempted to halt the Persian invasion of Greece under Xerxes the man-god.

Some individuals have seen 300 as a cleverly disguised political commentary on the current situation in the Middle East and Iraq, but this depends on whether you view President Bush as a decadent religious divine or a self appointed, idealistic warrior of morality. I didn't see such interpretations in this movie. For me, Bush rarely even displays grammatical correctness never mind the greater intellectual prowess necessary for successful international dialog; at any level, be it militarily, economically or diplomatically. 300 doesn't play devious or subtle mind games, it lays the facts bare and presents us with a main dynamic; the evaluation of human emotion and motive, although there are some undertones of nationalism and religion. This clash is depicted in comic book fashion, an almost surreal and fantastic parody of humanity, the distinctions are sharpened to resemble a 'chiascuro-esque painting by Carravagio which is viewed with absolute horror, intrigue and beautiful sadness. The passionate totality of birth, life and death are here, but yet still one asks 'What is the point?' to which a Spartan warrior might reply; 'The point is that which is at the end of my spear!'

It is like one USMC recruitment video seamlessly woven into yet another, only different costumes in another part of human history. There are only two main women in the movie, first the lush and exotic oracle girl, and the queen and wife of Leonidas and who unfortunately is placed in the position of bargaining for her husband's life with her sexuality. But here again the emotional and domestic rivalries and disputes reflect those on a national and international level. Only Spartan women give birth to real men, is the sum total experience of her femininity within this society; a concept that is as difficult for us to understand today as it is to comprehend the traditional Islamic way of life.

300 is incredibly sharp, I struggled to breath in the last sequence with king Leonidas standing against a mighty army of thousands with his little band of men. Their choice was to deal completely with that precise moment in time, not to avoid or consider the consequences of their actions but remain true to themselves; to accept total responsibility. If such a movie contains a lesson it is this, temper your imagination and increase your resolve in all situations, concentrate with all attention on that which you are facing... allow no distractions and proceed without fear.

300, directed by Zack Snyder and starring Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham, Vincent Regan...