Boys' own adventure yarns don't get much more rousing than the epic Battle of Thermopylae which pitted 300 Spartans against the massed ranks of Xerxes' Persian army.

Facing insurmountable odds, the crack force - whose mantra 'never surrender' was drummed into them from birth - made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of Greek democracy.

Frank Miller, creator of Sin City, recreated the legendary set-to in a graphic novel and now director Zack Snyder has brought it to the big screen.

Combining live action with virtual backgrounds, he's concocted a retina-battering vision of hell as the two sides become a collision in carnage.

Gerard Butler plays Spartan King Leonidas with a Scottish burr, bulging pecs and a natty codpiece that leaves little to the imagination.

He's joined by a loyal troop of gung-ho warriors - including The Captain (Vincent Regan) and Stelios (Michael Fassbender), life members of a battle-hardened brotherhood whose loyalty to each other is only exceeded by their devotion to Sparta.

Basically, this is one mightily impressive computer-generated ruck with its epic imagery merrily plundered from the likes of Gladiator and Lord of the Rings.

Viewers needn't detain themselves with the sub-plot - basically Leonidas' loyal wife Queen Gorgo (Headey) outwitting slimy political schemer Theron - and can concentrate on the awesome fisticuff sequences.

Not content with a vastly numerical advantage, Xerxes perks up his force with a lethal rhino-on-steroids as well as a giant warrior who might have seen service with the Orcs.

As well as the laddish derring-do, there's no getting away from the homoerotic imagery on show - there'll be tumbleweeds drifting down Old Compton Street when this is showing locally.

Leonidas and his troop have the look of a animated centrespread in Attitude magazine with more bulging biceps and rippling six packs than you can shake a spear at.

At the end of the day, there's no point beefing about the neo-Nazi elements of the Spartans (childcare was not a strongpoint) but take this for what it is - a technically astonishing virtual dust-up.

Tim Evans