Despite being as faithful an adaptation of the graphic novel as you could ever hope for, Alan Moore's famed superhero epic doesn't quite translate to the big screen. Impossibly dense and largely comprised of flashbacks, 300 director Zack Snyder has tried so hard to cram in every detail - and the attention to detail is glorious - that the bigger picture is lost.

He's supremely adept at presenting a brutal fight scene, but when it comes to showing us the humanity of the characters, he seems at a loss, and all the emotional investment you have in them comes from your familiarity with the book, meaning newcomers may be a little lost. It really does look beautiful, though.

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