The weather in Greece always looks so nice—sunny skies, white-sand beaches cooled by gentle zephyrs. Which means either climate change has messed with Greek weather in the past 2,500 years, or the makers of the 300 movies are taking artistic license: As befits a graphic-novel adaptation heavy on blood-spilling and war-mongering, the computer-generated skies of this world are perpetually roiling with black clouds and gloomy foreboding. 300: Rise of an Empire is based on Frank Miller’s Xerxes, and it provides a sequel to the 2006 hit 300.
Or not quite a sequel, exactly: This is a rare instance in serial-making in which the action actually takes place at the same time as the events of the first film.