300: Rise of an Empire is a 2014 American epic historical action film directed by Noam Murro from a screenplay by Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad, based on the then-unpublished comic book limited series Xerxes by Frank Miller.

Gorgo arrives at the battle along with ships from numerous Greek city-states including Delphi, Thebes, Olympia, Arcadia, and Sparta, all united against the Persians.

The site's critical consensus reads, "It's bound to hit some viewers as an empty exercise in stylish gore, and despite a gonzo starring performance from Eva Green, 300: Rise of an Empire is a step down from its predecessor.

Todd Gilchrist of The Wrap wrote: "Rise of an Empire lacks director Snyder's shrewd deconstruction of cartoonish hagiography, undermining the glorious, robust escapism of testosterone-fueled historical reenactment with an underdog story that's almost too reflective to be rousing.

"[30] Nicolas Rapold of The New York Times gave a mixed review: "The naval collisions and melees play out in panel-like renderings that are bold and satisfying for the first half-hour but lack the momentum and bombastic je ne sais quoi of 300.

"[31] Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter thought it was "more monochromatic and duller in appearance, lacking the bold reds and rich earth tones" of the earlier film.

[32] Scott Foundas of Variety gave a positive review: "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.

"[12] Soren Anderson of The Seattle Times thought it "very impressive in its single-minded dedication to creating a moviegoing experience designed to totally engulf its audience".

"[37] Guy Lodge of Time Out wrote, "It's flesh and carnage that the audience is here to see, and Murro delivers it by the glistening ton, pausing only for stray bits of backstory.

"[39] In a negative review, Drew Hunt of the Chicago Reader wrote: "The slow-motion battle scenes are technically impressive and occasionally elegant, but there's enough machismo here to choke a thousand NFL locker rooms.

"[40] Richard Roeper called the film "A triumph of production design, costumes, brilliantly choreographed battle sequences and stunning CGI".

[41] Scott Bowles of USA Today gave the film two out of four stars: "For anyone looking for a sense of script (forget plausibility), Empire is a Trojan horse.

"[42] Betsy Sharkey of the Los Angeles Times thought, "The spectacularly brutal fighting is the film's main calling card, and in that Rise of an Empire doesn't disappoint.

"[43] David Hiltbrand of The Philadelphia Inquirer praised "its slo-mo ultraviolence" and "impressive 3-D effects", calling it "a fan boy's fantasy, a four-star wonderment".

"[47] Stephen Whitty of the Newark Star-Ledger gave the film one and a half stars out of four, saying, "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.

Ty Burr of The Boston Globe stated, "Rise of an Empire may strike some as an improvement on the first film, if only for two reasons: naval warfare and the glorious absurdity of Eva Green.

"[50] Stephanie Zacharek writing for The Village Voice exclaimed, "Mere mortals of Athens, Sparta, and every city from Mumbai to Minneapolis, behold the magnificent Eva Green, and tremble!

She itemizes numerous historical discrepancies in the film, including the pivotal scene in which Themistocles kills Darius the Great at the Battle of Marathon, although he was really absent and died of natural causes only years later.

[52] Tunzelmann further quotes the Persian Fire author and historian Tom Holland, who translated Herodotus's Histories, and who is an expert on the Greco-Persian wars, as comparing the film to a wild fantasy substitute for actual historic reality.

[52][56] According to Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, Professor of Ancient History at Cardiff University: "Indeed, the Persians of 300: Rise of an Empire remain the incarnation of every Orientalist cliché imaginable: they are as decadent and oversexed as they are weak and spineless.

They are also incapable of winning battles without the help of a Greek traitor: Artemisia, a woman who may be costumed like Xena, a warrior princess, but whose heart is consumed by a crazy desire for power and destruction.