As visually, aesthetically, and stylistically accomplished as blockbusters get. If I had any doubts about whether Snyder was a good director before watching this, I definitely don’t anymore. He directs the absolute hell out of this thing. It’s only his second film and his sense of framing is just as good as ever. It’s such a singular experience, and I absolutely love Snyder’s strong commitment to such an elevated style and tone. This movie’s place as a cultural staple of the 2000s makes sense; it carved out that spot. And I’m really glad it exists.

But it’s also kinda super fucking fascist? Which is somewhat excused as all of the events in the film are narratively framed as a piece of Spartan war propaganda. And so, the film becomes somewhat interesting from that perspective. The story of the film literally justifies Spartan eugenics, but since the whole film is just a Spartan myth, it’s actually the Spartans justifying their own eugenics. That’s interesting for me on a meta-level.

But most of my enjoyment of the film doesn’t come from a meta-level commentary on propaganda. Most of my enjoyment comes from Snyder’s depiction of Spartans murdering the shit out of Persians. And his almost comically homoerotic depiction of the male form. And also from the sex scene between Lena Headey and Gerard Butler being the best sex scene in movie history. But in typical Snyder fashion, something about this movie really feels like you're not supposed to root for the Spartans at the end of the day. And so is this movie a satirical commentary on propaganda or is it just propaganda that calls itself out for being propaganda? The whole film is a beautiful contradiction.