300

The Battle of Thermopylae in 480BC might not be the most famous scrap in the world, but after you've seen director Zack Snyder's adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel, you'll wonder why you'd never heard of it before. King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) and Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) rule the Spartans, a warrior nation where defeat is unthinkable and where wives tell their husbands to "come back with your shield or on it". In other words, return victorious or die in battle. When threatened by the million-strong Persian army of Xerxes, Leonidas takes his best warriors to slow the advance as a doomed yet heroic gesture. Expect non-stop battles and an incredible fusion of buff bodies and computer-generated scenery in this unforgettable war movie.