300 was one really well made movie of 2006. The dark setting, chiseled six-pack bodies, flowing capes, strong dialog with a heavy dose of blood and gore are still vivid memory. To make a spoof of such a serious flick is no mean job really! Meet the Spartans is definitely a decent effort to give a comic twist to most of the heavy duty stuff that 300 portrays. Nevertheless, this doesn’t come without with its own huge baggage!Set along the narrative of 300, this one too begins with the birth of Leonidas and his journey to becoming King. The fun starts right away with young Leonidas born with beard and abs, Casino Royale torture, his encounter with happy feet, are among the memorable funnies. The boy, returns to Sparta, now a King. Well, guess who plays his queen in this one? Carmen Electra! She did a great job, I mean looking good!
Spoofed Sparta, like its original has muscled men too, but there are just a dozen for the battle of Hot Gates! And they have a flabby one who has fake abs painted on! The death pit scene too is funny with an American Idol twist! The oracle, oh, you got Ugly Betty there! Spoofed celebrities include Paris with a hunchback, Britney & Lindsey.
The war here had less to do with blood and more to do with dance and ‘yo-momma’ stuff! They sure are a drag at some points. Xerxes here is reduced to a comic flabby guy offers to play Deal or No Deal with Leonaidas. What’s more? Transformers are here too, with Xerxes finding the Allspark! The end of the war though is a tad different here! Back at Sparta, there Queen Margo too has her own battle in Spiderman 3 style!
To be honest, I don’t expect too much from spoofs, because they are meant to be no-brainers. Though ‘Meet the Spartans’ had its fair share of funny scenes to begin with, the narrative tends to lose track as it progresses. Making it worse are gross stuff coming up on screen at regular intervals. Though, just over an hour, you will not feel it was short!
This movie is nowhere close to the quality of one of my favorite spoofs, Johnny English (2003), the bond spoof or even the others like the Scary Movie series. Austin Powers would get beyond comparison! To their credit though, the lead characters have really toned up their bodies a-la Leonidas, the Original. A final warning: If you haven’t seen 300, you may easily give this a skip, as most humor will not make much sense!
Rating: 4/10 – Not a bad spoof; barring some loose script & gross stuff
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