Shimmering bronze shields glisten in the morning twilight of battle, as muscle bound Spartans hoist them and their spears aloft to the deafening cries of their own boisterous vibrato. But despite all their might and fury, destiny, after ever so long, had finally deemed the fabled dogs of war unfit to sit atop their throne of conquest and skulls any longer. For unlike the storied events of the brave 300 at Thermopylae, The Battle of Leuctra was to be an embarrassing loss, striking the Spartans with a fatal blow so devastating that it would doom them to a slow, pitiful crawl towards their inevitable demise. Such is destiny, soon to be history, but what if you could change it?
Mauricio Sanz's The Last Spartan is a mythic tale following the young Spartan soldier, Acosta Kaldis (Oscar Milito) as he prepares for the infamous Battle of Leuctra. Just like the rest of his Spartan brethren, he confidently boasts of a swift and decisive victory, but only to hide the fear gripping his heart, spurred on by a dream of death and defeat the night before.
Regardless, upon his night-watch on the eve of the battle, a startling noise leads him off into the nearby woods. There he discovers a bumbling man set upon by an unnatural beast. With haste, Acosta runs to the man's aid, wounding the beast and frightening it off with a slash to it's side.
Wanting to show gratitude, this stranger of the wood hastily offers a shimmering, green pendant that he promises will save Acosta should he be faced with death in the coming battle. He need only crush it in his hand to activate it. Thinking back to his dream, Acosta takes the pendant and ventures back to camp.
The next day, Acosta's worst dreams manifest before him as he watches the mighty Spartan ranks laid low. And so staring down death, he activates the pendant, sending him and his obedient helot slave, Corin (Daniel Lebucha), toiling into the future to an occupied Sparta.
Having escaped death, Acosta now shamefully wanders his conquered city walls, searching for a way back to his time, where he may redeem himself either through death or perhaps even turning the tide of battle.
It's a tale as old as ancient time. Boy is born into military society. Boy grows up as a patriotic killing machine of the state. Boy feels emotion for a second and gets punished by being flung into the future. You know? That classic venture.
But in all seriousness, Mauricio Sanz brings us a stylized swords-'n-saddles spectacular very much in the vein of Zach Snider's 300. But unlike its spiritual predecessor, The Last Spartan offers not only a harder fantastical twist to historical events, but also a heavy counter point of view of the benevolent Spartan war machines.
Throughout the film, POV flips between Acosta and his slave, Corin, offering us both the glory and horror of Spartan battle. One minute, Sanz enchants with bloody, stylized slow-mo kills, turning pugilism into poetry. The next, he's quick to remind his audience that not everyone see's such spirited brutality as anything short of horrific murder. All slammed together, it's easy to see that Sanz is giving credit where credit is due, showing that Spartans have an aspiring and in many ways moving sense of pride, patriotism, and comradery. However, no matter how cool all that may appear on screen or sound in fabled tales, it should never overshadow the reality of the harsh classism, slavery, and warmongering of Spartan culture.
Throughout the film, these two dichotomies constantly collide, resulting in some top notch, hard hitting drama. But not every swing at this is a hit, as the film does struggle meshing the two competing views from time to time. For despite Sanz's best efforts to put forward a balanced look at Spartan values and society, he seems far more interested in taking the piss out of Spartan fanboying.
Be that as it may, the story and its characters are what steal the show as Milito and Lebucha come to play. Their constant bickering over what makes a civilization great creates some interesting drama, social commentary, and surprisingly, a good bit of humor, given the grim subject matter. To top it off, the physicality of their performances really sells the emotional weight of every fight, whether it's with swords or words. But, it should be mentioned that for the titular character of Acosta, his personal journey does get somewhat sidelined in favor of ponderous social commentary and gritty combat.
All that being said, The Last Spartan is an inventive and interesting circus act of historical fiction, mild fantasy, social commentary, and brutal action. There's something here for everyone. And even if everything doesn't always land as well as it should, it never fails to keep your attention through every twist and turn of its gripping tale.
- Levi Mock (3/14/23)
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