Suffice it to say, Artemisia holds a death grudge against Themistokles. As the Greek General Themistokles (Stapleton) attempts to unite his countryРІР‚в„ўs various factions into joining the fray РІР‚вЂњ one in which the Grecian navy is wildly outmatched by the Persians РІР‚вЂњ HeadeyРІР‚в„ўs narration quickly and thoroughly provides just the right amount of exposition to bring the audience up to speed on what most of us dozed through in our high school history classes.

Cloaked in warrior-noir leather couture, sheРІР‚в„ўs hellbent on attacking the GreeksРІР‚в„ў watery flanks even as РІР‚Сљthe 300РІР‚Сњ are going gloriously to their fabled deaths on the other side of the as-yet-unified country. That would be Eva GreenРІР‚в„ўs fearless and cunning Artemisia, the leader of the Persian fleet. Amazingly, it all coheres into a ripping good yarn, awash in spurting gobbets of not only testosterone but, this time out, a heaping, scheming helping of estrogen as well. (Not that IРІР‚в„ўm knocking William WylerРІР‚в„ўs Ben-Hur, mind you.) ThereРІР‚в„ўs 300 times more bloodshed, battles, rough sex, and even rougher weather here than in SnyderРІР‚в„ўs original film, and director Murro keeps what feels like an umpteen number of amphoras spinning simultaneously. Even with its relatively brief running time, 300: Rise of an Empire suddenly makes genuine Hollywood historical epics like The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur seem tame by comparison.

It outmaneuvers that other recent Aegean РІР‚СљepicРІР‚Сњ РІР‚вЂњ Pompeii РІР‚вЂњ in every department. Less of a sequel than the second, meanwhile-back-at-the-farm half of Zack SnyderРІР‚в„ўs 2007 blockbuster 300, this is a righteously gory and spectacularly imagined entry into what is almost certain to be a major studio franchise for years to come.

The 300 rise of an empire movie poster