Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that 300: Rise of an Empire is the sequel to the violent hit 300, with the story taking place before, during, and after the events of the original. The violence in the new movie is artificial and fantasy-based, but extremely bloody, with many fight scenes, sliced-up bodies, severed heads and limbs, and huge gushes of spraying blood. There's also a subplot about an abused girl, with sexual abuse strongly suggested. The movie contains a sex scene that plays more like a fight than lovemaking, and female toplessness is shown for several minutes. Another woman is topless in a brief scene, and many chiseled, musclebound men are shown shirtless throughout. The movie clearly contains one use each of "f--k" and "c--k," and a possible second use during a noisy crowd scene.
Sexual
Content
A sex scene between Themistocles and Artemisia plays more like a fight than lovemaking. They throw each other around the room, and thrusting is shown. Artemisia is shown topless for several moments. Another woman is shown topless in an earlier scene, as she is being taken prisoner. Hundreds of chiseled, muscled men are shown posing shirtless, like an army of Chippendales dancers.
Violence
Though fantasy-based and totally artificial, the movie contains an array of brutal battle scenes, with arrows, swords and shields slicing into dozens of bodies. Huge gushes of fake-looking computer generated blood are shown spraying out at every angle. Heads and limbs are sliced off. A man's face is smashed underneath a horse's hoof. Dozens are killed. Things explode. Perhaps worse, the lone female character gets a flashback to her childhood, wherein her family is said to have been tortured, raped, and killed. As a girl, she is captured and chained up in the bowels of a ship, clearly bruised, and a man approaches her and is shown removing his shirt (abuse is strongly suggested).
Language
"F--k" and "c--k" are used clearly, once each. In a noisy crowd scene, it sounds as if they are each used a second time, but it's difficult to tell for sure.
Social
Behavior
Hidden inside all the bloody battles is a theme about democracy, or nations working together to attain peace and freedom, but it's ultimately fairly muddled in the storytelling. Also, seeing the movie may interest teens in reading about the real history.
Consumerism
Not applicable
Drugs / Tobacco /
Alcohol
Not applicable
