300: Rise of an Empire [3D] – ****

300: Rise of an Empire is not a true sequel in the traditional sense of the term. It is more of an augmented, parallel story line, with bits of back story in the lengthy introduction, and then swiftly picking up after the events of the original 300 (2006) nearly midway through. In this arc, Athenian commander, Thermistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) slays Xerxes’ (Rodrigro Santoro) father, King Darius (Igal Naor), ten years prior to the Battle of Thermopylae which claimed King Leonidas’ (Gerard Butler) life. This sets in motion the events of both films, at least according to the tortured soul of Thermistocles, who blames himself for incurring Xerxes’ wrath.

In another flashback montage, the audience is introduced to this film’s villain, Artemisia, wickedly portrayed by the intimidating Eva Green, as she rises from abused slave to powerful admiral of the entire Persian fleet, under King Darius’ tutelage and protection. This obviously causes quite a bit of jealousy within Xerxes, which causes tension far beyond typical ‘sibling’ rivalry once they are engaged in the heat of battle.

The audience’s heart almost breaks for her, once it understands the intentions behind her extreme ruthlessness. However, she quickly loses its trust upon committing her next wave of violent acts. Yet it is her aggression that makes her even more formidable than the self-proclaimed ‘god-king’, Xerxes’ himself. Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey), David Wenham (Dilios) and Andrew Tiernan (Ephialtes) also reprise their roles, bringing a welcome continuity to the franchise.

The bulk of the film is consumed by lethal, yet almost balletic, slow-motion combat, much like its predecessor. This time around, though, it is shot in full 3D. This is the first live-action film since Avatar to truly implement true-to-life, non-gimmicky 3D effects, and throughout the entire film. Most other movies tend to throw on 3D imagery as an afterthought as a means to artificially bump up ticket sales. They also typically make subjects onscreen appear miniaturized and out of scale, and is incredibly distracting.

In 300: Rise of an Empire, all of the characters appear proportional to the frame, especially in extreme close-up shots. This makes for a more realistic and captivating experience. Arrows and spears seem to thrust out towards the viewer, and rain, fog, and fire effects build compelling atmosphere. Every 3D element is meticulously crafted to optimize the depth of field.

The true stars of the show, however, are the intensely epic naval warfare sequences. It is thrilling to see these giant wooden beasts engage in combat upon crashing waves. The sight of thousands upon thousands of ships battling it out is awe-inspiring, to say the least, no matter if they’re CGI. This is the first “must-see” popcorn film of 2014.