cinema

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

The Review - AT THE MOVIES with WILLIAM HALL
Published: 20 March 2008

Meet the Spartans is unlikely to be a hit in the UK

Let’s leave them to carry on camping

MEET THE SPARTANS
Directed by JASON FRIEDBERG/
AARON SELTZER
Certificate 12a

GAY Pride meets Carry On Up the Acropolis would be a better title for this parody of the historic epic 300. All I can say is that if I’d met these poseurs in their leather codpieces coming at me out of the rocks I’d have run a mile.
The trouble is that the humour is abysmal, with crude one-liners aimed at the US market, lampooning their top TV shows and film characters like Rocky Balboa in search of a knockout joke.
Writers/directors Friedberg and Seltzer must have thought it a great wheeze to have their modest 13 Spartans – led by Sean Maguire as Leonidas – skipping along to the battlefield singing I Will Survive, while a hunchback who betrays them to the advancing Persian hordes turns out to be Paris Hilton.
Fellas, the only way to get a glimmer of a laugh out of this one is to go in tanked up, with the promise of a hot curry afterwards.
Ladies, leave it to a boys’ night out!

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment:

» Film Times
» Film Reviews
» Buy DVDs
» Rent DVDs