48
Metascore
34 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 78Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovAustin ChronicleMarc SavlovWhile very much a “hard R” movie, Rise of an Empire is, nevertheless, the perfect sort of film for rainy weekend afternoons. It’s a spectacle right down to its shattered ships and duplicitous warcraft, and this time out the story’s been leavened and enlivened with plenty of old-school girl power.
- 75Entertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyEntertainment WeeklyChris NashawatyThe film belongs to Green — maybe the only actress ever to "graduate" from being a Bertolucci muse to a bloodthirsty action-flick dominatrix.
- 70VarietyScott FoundasVarietyScott FoundasAnchored by Eva Green’s fearsome performance as a Persian naval commander whose vengeful bloodlust makes glowering King Xerxes seem a mere poseur, this highly entertaining time-filler lacks the mythic resonances that made “300” feel like an instant classic, but works surprisingly well on its own terms.
- 70Village VoiceStephanie ZacharekVillage VoiceStephanie ZacharekRise of an Empire might have been essentially more of the same, but for one distinction that makes it 300 times better than its predecessor: Mere mortals of Athens, Sparta, and every city from Mumbai to Minneapolis, behold the magnificent Eva Green, and tremble!
- 63McClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreMcClatchy-Tribune News ServiceRoger MooreThe design... is stunning, an improvement over 2006′s “300.” And the action never disappoints. It’s a pity this colorless cast doesn’t hold a candle to the Butler/Headey/Michael Fassbender/David Wenham crew of the original, that the writers couldn’t conjure up thrilling speeches to match the original.
- 63New York PostKyle SmithNew York PostKyle SmithGreen rules the picture with her nutty stare and her willingness to get nasty in a hot sex scene, but the movie’s main weak point is the Greek general Themistokles.
- 60Time Out LondonGuy LodgeTime Out LondonGuy LodgeIt’s all extravagantly daft, moves at a fair clip and is over before you expect it to be.
- 60Total FilmNeil SmithTotal FilmNeil SmithJust as bloody yet much more conventional, 300 #2 offers splashy thrills aplenty but fails to make a watertight case for its own existence. Green, however, ensures it stays afloat.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyThe Hollywood ReporterTodd McCarthyOther than for the pleasure of watching Green try to conquer ancient Greece dressed as a distant forebearer of Catwoman, more is less and a little late in this long-aborning sequel.
- 25The A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyThe A.V. ClubIgnatiy VishnevetskyMurro doesn’t so much direct as frame and stage, placing the characters against digital desktop-wallpaper skies and constructing each battle scene as a showcase for the characters’ prowess and toughness.