By: Dominic Lee

In Zack Snyder's 300, a movie which follows the historic spartan 300 storyline, each act follows a generic pattern but at the same time allows for a good buildup to the sequence of the movie. The first act allows for the introduction of the protagonist as a child in spartan life, and, the very abrupt appearance of the antagonist King Xerxes at the same time by use of a 4 min spectacle, in which the hero King Leonidas meets the Persian messenger and commits an act of revolt by kicking the messenger into a pit yelling "This is Sparta" and in the process killing the messenger's escort. This incites the Persian army to wage a war on the spartan province, and in effect brings the audience into the preparation for the imminent battle via the spartan way in those times.
Act 2 begins with the first pinch/ intensify cause and effect, as the protagonist is faced with the choice of disobeying his countries oracles or doing what he felt best. He chooses the latter and in this act the mood is set as a imminent sense of danger. This is invoked by the scene of a village slaughtered by the Persian army and there gruesome remains and the merging of an allied army lead by Daxos of the3 Archadians. In the final act the 2nd pinch occurs when the Archadian army disbands from the 300 Spartans and retreat leaving their numbers sorely cut. This forces the king to make his most difficult decision and he dies by setting an example and sparking the spartan army to action. The cinematography is mostly CGI and costume work, but combined with a list of good actors and an excellent editing team; a movie worth watching.