The Best Movie Actor In Hollywood!

Chapter 496

The opening credits introduce the training of Spartan children to become soldiers, laid out in a few short, brutally clear scenes: all Spartans are soldiers. Every male endures a series of trials to become the perfect warrior, starting from infancy. They must enter service at the age of seven, wear only a single piece of clothing year-round, and are intentionally starved, forced to steal to sharpen their courage.

Most astounding of all, to become the King of Sparta, one had to return alive after years of exile in the wilderness.

Visually, the opening sequence was nothing short of spectacular; there was hardly a single frame that wasn't rendered with special effects.

Then, the film cut to the adult Leonidas, making his grand entrance.

The camera held on a close-up of Leonidas, focusing first on his resolute face before slowly pulling back to reveal his neck, pectoral muscles, and abdomen.

It was a shot designed to showcase the raw masculinity of the king.

Giovanni’s eyes were glued to the big screen, to the image of a man who was muscular, but not exaggeratedly so—his physique looked natural, powerful.

The camera pulled back so quickly that the entire shot lasted only two or three seconds, but Giovanni clearly heard a collective murmur ripple through the theater.

He turned his head toward the sound. It came from a female fan, perhaps in her thirties. Her eyes were wide, and she swallowed hard with excitement, muttering something under her breath.

Giovanni, sitting right in the middle of a crowd of devoted fans, could feel with startling clarity that Horner was immensely popular with moviegoers.Charlize was also here today, her eyebrows shooting up from time to time as the film progressed.

The filmmakers had crafted a movie that was one hundred percent thrilling and epic. As for the sound, she didn't quite grasp the connection between the heavy metal soundtrack and ancient Spartan warriors, but the timely electronic score felt perfectly at home in the massive theater.

In particular, Matthew had several scenes where he single-handedly took on ten men at once, and the action sequences were made more than stunning by his superb movements, high-speed slow-motion shots, and sprays of digital blood.

Matthew's performance as the charismatic and virile Leonidas was a definite highlight of the film.

Watching Leonidas tear through every Persian on screen, Charlize recalled the incredible nights they had spent together, a testament from her own experience that Matthew's "prowess in battle" was truly that of a war god.

"Wow!"

Once again, a chorus of exclamations swept through the theater.

Leonidas, having just slain a monstrous Persian officer, stood atop a sea-battered cliff, his red cape billowing and snapping in the wind.

The golden sun illuminated his body, sweat and blood trickling slowly down his near-perfect musculature.

It was another close-up, framing the hero as a god of war.

After witnessing the brutal, bloody combat, and then seeing this serene close-up, many suddenly felt they could have just watched him in silence, without the camera ever cutting away.

This was the Battle of Thermopylae, a story well-known to the public—the defense of ancient Greece's so-called liberal democracy, a theme often replayed in Western media and academia, and many people knew its final outcome.

Leonidas was inevitably killed in battle.

However, not everyone wanted the film to continue, and some couldn't sit still long enough to see the second half.

"What in the hell is this?"

"You call this a movie?"

Sitting in his comfortable chair, Rex could hear his fellow critics complaining incessantly, starting just ten minutes into the film.

A professional film critic from Los Angeles sitting next to him was equally dismissive, grumbling, "This is like a super-long MTV video with erotic underwear as its core theme. The theme of the underwear is Ancient Greece, and the music is rock... And Horner, is he even an actor anymore!"

On screen, another battle began. Matthew was once again carving his way through hordes of Persians, while in the audience, his fans let out sporadic cries of delight.

Rex's face flushed with disgust. This was a damn skin flick. The director shamelessly showcased it with CGI and high-speed slow-motion, with Horner flaunting his body to elicit the most primal desires and exaggerated screams from his fans.

Is this a film? Is this art!?

No restraint! Too violent! Too crude!

Rex scrawled the three phrases in the viewing notebook in his hand, then finally gave up, spitting mentally as another close-up of Horner as the Spartan king filled the screen.

****

As the film drew to a close, Charlize glanced back at the critics sitting behind her with some concern.

As a star who had been in the business for over a decade and had won an Oscar for Best Actress, she knew all too well that a film like "300" was destined for a thrashing from the critics—especially those who saw themselves as "defenders of cinematic art." It was inevitable.

She shook her head, hoping Matthew and the film could withstand their venom.

Giovanni, a native of the romantic Mediterranean coast, was completely swept up by the enthusiasm of the fans around him. Nothing else mattered.

One thing was certain: if this were about underwear... no, if it were Armani underwear, they could maintain their premium price point and sell out worldwide!

"I'm an absolute idiot!" Giovanni couldn't help but slap his own forehead. "The moment I saw the trailer, I should have signed Horner on the spot and discussed a collaboration! What a golden opportunity I'm missing now!"

What an oversight!

The more magnificent Matthew appeared on screen and the more ecstatic the fans around him became, the more Giovanni blamed himself.

He was certain he had made a mistake and that the entire Armani company had missed a perfect opportunity—the chance to promote Armani underwear to the entire world.

Donadoni, however, wasn't thinking about it that deeply. Hearing the periodic cheers erupting from the theater, he was sure of one thing.

As soon as the screening was over, these crazy fans would flock to IMDB to give "300" a perfect score.

On screen, the film was reaching its climax as Leonidas forced the self-proclaimed god-king to bleed before roaring at the heavens under a rain of arrows.

Fierce and magnificent, Leonidas fell into a pool of his own blood.

The theater fell eerily silent. Everyone knew Leonidas was fated to die in battle, but in that moment, hearing his final roar, watching him die without retreating, his sword still extended even in death, they were silenced.

Then, from out of nowhere, came the sound of quiet sobs.

Never mind the fans; the relatively emotional Italian, Giovanni, also felt something wet gathering in the corner of his eye and quickly took the opportunity to rub it away.

Of course, those who were so moved were still in the minority.

But everyone was stunned by Leonidas's final, majestic sacrifice, captivated by his last cry.

Even Rex froze. The scene of Horner's fall was so powerful... it was as if he himself... had been swept up in Matthew's performance.

What was happening? Was Horner's acting really that powerful!?

After a moment's thought, Rex decided that Matthew was simply too well-suited for the character. Leonidas in the film was a war god who never surrendered, and in reality, Horner was portrayed as a war god by his own team.

Rex had to admit the director had done an excellent job, unleashing Horner's extraordinary charisma through the camera and the staging.

Unfortunately... the film was still, for the most part, just selling muscle.

As the film ended, Giovanni looked around. Everyone sitting in front of and behind him—men and women, regardless of age—was thrilled and jubilant. Exclamations of admiration filled the air, a clear sign of Matthew Horner's popularity and the audience's embrace of this character.

This was the endorsement Matthew had earned.

Just as Giovanni was making his decision, the credits began to roll on screen, and the theater erupted in thunderous applause that went on and on.