For yours truly, it's just more of the same old, same old (that even got spoofed a few years back in the awful parody "Meet the Spartans") that still takes itself far too seriously without fully accepting the campy romp it so desperately wants to be.
The idea was to make a visual connection to classical storytelling and intensify its philosophical echoes as in 300 and perfected in 300: Rise of an Empire .
Armond White, Rich Lowry, Andrew C. McCarthy, Noah Rothman•National Review•Dec 29, 2018