300

Based on Frank Miller’s graphic novel, 300 tells the story of Leonidas and his Spartans at Thermopylae in a heavily stylised world of slow-motion combat, golden skies and spraying blood. Gerard Butler gives a full-throated performance as the Spartan king, and the film’s look has been imitated endlessly since.

As history, it is almost entirely fantasy. The Persians are turned into monsters, Xerxes becomes a towering god-king, and the thousands of other Greek soldiers who fought at Thermopylae are all but written out. The real Spartans would also have been surprised to be cast as defenders of freedom, since their society depended on the enslaved helots.

Taken on its own terms, as a heroic legend told around a campfire, it is a lot of fun.

Our verdict

Watch it for the spectacle, then read Herodotus for the truth.