They’ve taken on bloodthirsty Persians and sea monsters, supernatural pirates and a throng of soldiers. Now the Spartans of 300 and the Pirates of the Caribbean are squaring off against each other in their quest for gold — golden popcorn, that is. Both action-packed, villain-ridden and hero-lovin’ films lead the pack in nominations for the 2007 MTV Movie Awards, with “300” getting five nods and “Pirates” with four. Will it be the high seas or the ancient gods that prevail? Do we hear a faceoff? Ahoy matey! [ STACEY SKOTZKO, REDEYE ]
THE NOMINATIONS
“Pirates” graces the Best Movie and Best Villain (Bill Nighy) categories, but really scores with two nominations in the Best Performance Category, thanks to Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley.
(Winner) Go Spartans! The film leads with the most nominations, with Best Movie, Best Villain (Rodrigo Santoro), Best Performance (Gerard Butler), Breakthrough Performance (Lena Headey) and Best Fight (Gerard Butler vs. “The Uber Immortal”).
BATTLE SCENES
“Pirates” continues its trilogy with long … and longer … and longer … battle scenes, sailing across the world to save Captain Jack Sparrow. A clash on the edge of a swirling whirlpool, canons, swords and the ever-villainous commander Davy Jones — these are your typical “Pirates” melees on the high seas.
(Winner) Blood. Blood. And more blood. The army of 300 Spartans take on about 250,000 Persians, in the historic Battle of Thermopylae. Talk about an underdog.
LEADING LADY
(Winner) Keira Knightley could stand in a corner and just look pretty. Yet her character Elizabeth Swann, in true pirate fashion, dukes it out with the men and shows off her impressive sword fighting skills.
British actress Lena Headey (as a stunning Queen Gorgo) must learn to play tough with the Spartan boys, yet be the loving, supporting wife. All hail the queen.
MAN OF THE HOUR
(Winner) Got a little captain in you? Ever-so-suave Captain Jack Sparrow shows off his wits (and good looks) for the third time.
What man can battle an army of Persians in scantily-clad gladiator gear? King Leonidas (Gerard Bulter) is the true definition of a man’s man — and wears his armor very well.
BOX-OFFICE BOOTY
(Winner) The crew took home $142 million of loot in its opening weekend, setting a new Memorial Day record.
The historical epic took in $70 million in its March opening weekend.
WHAT NOT TO WEAR
(Winner) Men with makeup? Dirty dreadlocks? Puffy shirts? Not surprisingly, Johnny Depp pulls it off.
Six-pack abs and togas. Who needs armor anyway?
Winner: “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”
Even though the Spartans fight an underdog battle of epic proportions and have an additional MTV Movie Award nomination, it can’t compete with the star power of “Pirates.” With Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Chow Yun-Fat, Geoffrey Rush and Keith Richards on the ship, “Pirates” has us hooked.
