Jerman's rating: 3 steps forward, 2 steps back. Defcon 5. Movie for adults only (21 adults not the 18 type).

There is quite a bit of disturbing and questionable content. The violence is very graphic, but done in a cartoonish way. There is a lot of stabbing and beheading. There is a lot of breast shots too, and not just the quick shot, they get ample screen time, if that bothers you and you still want to watch the movie there are two scenes where you need to cover your eyes. Personally I didn't care for the sex scene one bit, it didn't leave much to the imagination- either what they were doing, or how they were doing it. Despite the content the film is surprisingly moral and teaches great things, and is almost devoid of bad messages.

Good messages include: Being honorable (virtuous) at all times in all circumstances, fighting for what is right- whether or not you can win, fighting for the children's future is what's important. Several references are made to submitting or bowing down to a figure. Xerxes can be a symbol of a lot of different things: tyranny, money, glory, power, many things in our society. This kneeling down is strongly discouraged and mocked (This is one of the greatest lines of the movie- "You...May you live forever"). Expressing to those you love that you love them- is briefly discussed. And one more I'll mention is how the hero stands against incorrect traditions and established practices of the society, he is guided by law and also by his own inner morals.

The few bad messages I could come up with include: excessive brutality and violence, and over glorification of the ruthless warrior soldier.

One of my favorite scenes shows just consequences and its great. The wife who offers her body is stung with regret at her compromised immorality and it has consequences. The jerk politician also gets returned to him what he dealt to others.

I have to talk for a minute about the camera work and color usage, which really set this film apart. The colors were, as a friend pointed out, "spartan." Usually the screen was monochromatic (tell me if I'm using this word incorrectly) going from white to black with either a cool blueish color in between (for gray) or a goldish color. There are a few rare times when there are three colors on the screen- its rare though. A lot of the camera work looked computer generated, but was variable speed emphasizing the battle and the Spartan's skill in combat. If you watch the movie you will enjoy the camera work and variable speed, it keeps you in the movie, and is an innovative technique which I could see being employed in future films as well.
Lastly, I have to tell you about the movie as a whole. Its a He-Man movie. The first half has both coming of age and sexuality. The second half has lots of buff guys, fighting against impossible odds, and saying really cool lines while talking to other groups. Its really just filled with lots of manly masculine things. The girl sitting next to me, who came with a date, didn't seem to like it much, but it seemed almost all the guys loved it. It is heavy on the violence, it does have sexuality (this is either good or bad for you), but it carries very good messages that are very applicable to here and now.