Film Preview: 300: Rise of an Empire (2014)

Poster

Additional posters can be found below.

Trailer Link

Release Date:

March 7, 2014

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “The Greek general Themistocles battles an invading army of Persians under the mortal-turned-god, Xerxes.”

Poster: C+ (2) / C- (6) / C (5) / B- (2) / A- / C+

Review: (#1-#2 & #17) The first two and 17th designs sell the style-over-substance angle, which might work if they were a little less amorphous (original comments on #2: It’s not the least bit subtle. A tidal wave of blood will flow as one man stands in the way of an army.).

(#3-#8) This first set of character posters isn’t bold enough, lacks creative depth and puts these visages too much in the face of the viewer. (#9-#13) The second set is a bit more action-oriented, with cheesy catch phrases to go along with them. (#14-#15) The next two designs look alike even without the same poses employed, the second of them adds another catch phrase unnecessarily. (#16) The penultimate design is inventive, original and compelling and still tells the story well.

Trailer: C / C / C

Review: If you’ve seen the original film, you’ll recognize how devoid its sequel is likely to be of plot or theme, favoring sensationalism and blood shed with plenty of sex appeal. It doesn’t look too different from its predecessor, which will please fans and flummox critics.

(#2 & #3) The second and third trailers try to highlight different aspects of the film. Neither make the film look like a necessary sequel to 300 and each of them play up the implausibility of the narrative. That said, before either gets into the meet of the action, they focus on stylish images that look cool, but won’t add up to much.