 Some of the most unfavorable reviews came from major American newspapers . A.O. Scott of The New York Times describes 300 as " about as violent as Apocalypto and twice as stupid , " while criticizing its color scheme and suggesting that its plot includes racist undertones ; Scott also poked fun at the buffed bodies of the actors portraying the Spartans , declaring that the Persian characters are " pioneers in the art of face @-@ piercing " , but that the Spartans had access to " superior health clubs and electrolysis facilities " . Kenneth Turan writes in the Los Angeles Times that " unless you love violence as much as a Spartan , Quentin Tarantino or a video @-@ game @-@ playing teenage boy , you will not be endlessly fascinated . " Roger Ebert , in his review , gave the film a two @-@ star rating , writing , " 300 has one @-@ dimensional caricatures who talk like professional wrestlers plugging their next feud . " Some critics employed at Greek newspapers have been particularly critical , such as film critic Robby <unk> , who said that moviegoers would be dazzled by the " digital action " but irritated by the " pompous interpretations and one @-@ dimensional characters . " 
