"300" may not be the best film of 2007, but for me, it's easily the coolest-looking and most entertaining one so far this year. I always appreciate any popcorn movie that makes no bones about being a popcorn movie. Gleefully over-the-top in all aspects, "300" is, almost literally, a comic book come-to-life. Loud, violent and gratuitous, the film is a glorious exercise in style over substance, making "The Matrix" look like a Woody Allen film.

Based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, itself inspired by an alleged real battle in which King Leonidas of Sparta (Gerard Butler) leads a small group of 300 soldiers to hold off a Persian army of thousands, the film makes no pretensions of historical accuracy (and despite the claims of a few folks with way too much spare time on their hands, is NOT an allegory of the current war in Iraq). Though there are a few wonderfully dramatic moments, extreme spectacle is the agenda here. The plot is simple, the action practically balletic, the blood-spurting violence almost surreal, the sex scenes titillating & gratuitous. All the men are almost impossibly buff, all the women gorgeous and scantily-clad. Both the heroes and villains are nearly one-dimensional, and characters spout (or roar) most of their destined-to-be-quoted-on-a-bumper-sticker dialogue with blood vessel-popping intensity. Subtle, the film ain't. But credit director Zack Snyder (who surprised everyone with his winning remake of "Dawn of the Dead") for knowing exactly what kind of film "300" should be, a triumph of action, style and production design. The film is gorgeous, and constantly interesting just to look at. What could have been just another overly-long, pretentious historical epic is instead a lean, mean fighting machine that basks in every technical cinematic excess imaginable, and lovingly embraces its comic book origins.

The disc we were sent for review is the fullscreen version, so writing about the picture is redundant, especially since a widescreen version is available. For a film as great looking as this one, watching it in anything other than its original aspect ratio should be a crime. Trust me, you WANT this one in widescreen. As for the audio...it's rendered in 5.1 Dolby Surround, and it sounds terrific.

Again, the disc we reviewed doesn't feature all the extras included in the special edition released at the same time. The only bonus feature included here is a commentary by Snyder, writer Kurt Johnstad & cinematographer Larry Fong. Big fans of the film are highly advised to shell out the extras cash and pick up the special edition.

Every now and then, you gotta admire a movie that has only one objective, which is beat you over the head with style and excess, especially when presented as effectively as it is in "300." Practically a living comic book, the film is pure movie escapism of the highest order, and most highly recommended.