If you like 300, you will like 300: Rise of an Empire. It may be best viewed as a double feature, which I did not do, but I think would have been ideal because 300: Rise of an Empire is not a prequel or sequel, but concurrent. 300: Rise of an Empire fully capitalizes on any Starz Spartacus love with the lengthy dialogue and fetishization of violence through slow mo and stop action. At this point, Eva Green is killing it as an actor, the sexiest woman alive and has officially seized the fearless dark sexuality performance crown from Angelina Jolie-and THAT description can just apply to her vocals, but add her appearance and wardrobe (think Alien monster queen spikes meets Xena: The Warrior Princess), swoon! She dominates every scene, and even though her character is a historical figure inaccurately portrayed in the 300: Rise of an Empire, you don’t care and want to award her the honorary Lucy Lawless award. I actually felt like ultimately the movie cobbled together an unbelievable denouement because Green made her such a believable excellent, fearless and strategic fighter that the final battle did not feel credible. Oh well. I must file a complaint for not getting enough Lena Headley. I need more Lena Headley in my life. We all do (thank you, Jimmy Kimmel). It is violent and fun, but unlike Spartacus, all the freedom talk is just that-talk. If you want your violence and sex backed by emotional resonance and fraught with meaning, then watch Starz Sparatacus.