Eva Green delights as the cunning Artemesia, so dominating every scene she's in that Empire almost feels as if it is her story rather than a tale of Greek freedom.
If the movie's action recalls video games, the dramatically artificial lighting suggests 1980s rock videos. Indeed, Rise of an Empire is so campy that it might work better as a musical.
Long on crimson spurts of blood but low on character, larded with production value but bereft of any other kind of it, "300: Rise of an Empire' is a 3D joke.
There is much grinding of teeth, and mauling of history, and anachronistic use of gunpowder, until we plug our ears and desperately pray to the gods of Olympus, or the brothers of Warner, that they might make an end.
Black Sabbath's War Pigs coats the end credits in the aural equivalent of liquid metal, the final guilty pleasure of a senses-battering 106 minutes of military mayhem.
For a film that's trying to outdo its predecessor in every way possible, Rise falls a bit short. It still looks glorious, retaining that distinctive chromatic style and gloomy colour palette for that essential comic-book look.
