Summary

300: Rise of an Empireis the little-known sequel to Zack Snyder’s smash hit300, and many fans of the original film are wondering if they should check out the 2014 follow-up. The film acts as aprequel and a sequel to the timeline of300, with it expanding on the events of the film by showing another battle that was taking place at around the same time as Leonidas' battle at Thermopylae. While300is still incredibly popular,300: Rise of an Empireisn’t as well known, with tons of viewers of the original film not having checked it out yet.

Zack Snyder’s300is one of the director’s biggest hits, with the film telling the story of the Battle of Thermopylae, in which King Leonidas and his 300 Spartans fought the much bigger Persian army.300is based on a comic series of the same name, and the film adaptation was a huge success, with it making $456 million on a $60 million budget and receiving positive critical reviews. Because of the success of300, a sequel attempted to capitalize on the original film, with300: Rise of an Empirefollowing in the original movie’s footsteps.

Themistocles from 300 Rise of an Empire standing in front of a red background

What Happened To Themistocles In 300: Rise Of An Empire

The ancient Greek soldier Themistocles was depicted in the 2014 film 300: Rise of an Empire, but some liberties were taken with history in the movie.

300: Rise Of An Empire Has A 45% Score From Critics On Rotten Tomatoes

The movie’s Rotten Tomatoes audience score is 51%

300: Rise of an Empiredidn’t perform as well critically as its 2006 predecessor, with the film having a 45% score from critics onRotten Tomatoesas of the writing of this article. This reflects the mixed and negative reviews that the sequel received upon its release, with300: Rise of an Empirenot impressing many critics. The film didn’t do well with general audiences either, as300: Rise of an Empireonly has a 51% audience score, meaning that everyday viewers only liked it slightly more on average than the critics.

Although300: Rise of an Empirehas a worse Rotten Tomatoes score than300, it isn’t by too much. The first300movie only has a 61% critics score, meaning that, while on average critics liked300more, it wasn’t by much. The bigger difference comes when looking at the audience score, as300has an 89%, which is much higher than300: Rise of an Empire’s 51% (viaRotten Tomatoes). So, while critics tend to be bigger fans of the first300, the same is even more true for general audiences.

A SR custome image from 300: Rise of an Empire that puts two characters next to each other

300: Rise Of An Empire’s Reviews Praise Its Action Gore & Eva Green’s Performance But Compare It Unfavorably To 300

It didn’t live up to Snyder’s original

The Rotten Tomatoes score of300: Rise of an Empirereflects the mixed reviews that the film has gotten, as some parts were well-liked by viewers, but other parts were not.The biggest positives of the film have to do with the action, as the reviews tend to praise the fight scenes and gore, something that300got right.Eva Green’s performance as the Greek queen Artemisiahas also been acclaimed, with it being one of the best aspects of the film.

However, even these parts of300: Rise of an Empirearen’t as good as similar parts in300. While the action is good, it is hard to compare to Zack Snyder’s legendary300action scenes, parts of which went on to define the director’s style. On top of that, nearly every performance in300is legendary, and that is mostly due to the film’s writing.300is full of famous quotesthat have become iconic since the film was first released in 2006, with this having a hand in elevating each character and actor.

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300: Rise Of An Empire Cast & Returning Character Guide

300: Rise of An Empire is a sequel to the historical epic action film 300, and features a number of overlapping characters with the original film.

300: Rise Of An Empire Is Worth Watching For Fans Of 300 & Historical Action Epics

Fans of the original will enjoy the sequel

While the reviews for300: Rise of an Empireare mixed, it is worth watching for some.Fans of the original300will be able to get a lot out of300 Rise of an Empire, as it explores the world further and brings back the signature style and tone of the Zack Snyder movie and the original comics.

On top of that, fans of historical action epics in general will enjoy300: Rise of an Empire, as it features many of the genre’s staples. Not only does300: Rise of an Empireexplore the true storyof the battles it portrays, but it also adds in some elements in order to make it seem more epic, similar to the original300. So, while the film may not be a hit with everyone, there are definitely fans out there who will love300: Rise of an Empire.

300: Rise of an Empire

Cast

Based on Frank Miller’s latest graphic novel, “Xerxes,” 300: Rise of an Empire follows greek general Themistokles' attempts to unite all of Greece by leading the charge that will change the course of the war. The movie pits Themistokles against the massive invading Persian forces led by mortal-turned-god Xerxes and the deadly Artemisia, the vengeful commander of the Persian navy.