300: Rise of an Empire

This worthy companion piece to Zack Snyder's 300 depicts events that run parallel to the Spartan massacre. General Themistocles (Sullivan Stapleton) rallies his fellow Grecians together against the massive Persian navy led by ruthless commander Artemisia (Eva Green). Like 300, the film is based on a Frank Miller graphic novel, and director Noam Murro skilfully sticks to what worked the first time in terms of raw, full-blooded violence and rugged, thunderous action. Fleshed out with the origins of god-king Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro), the genesis of Artemisia's revenge plot, a wildly hilarious acrobatic seduction scene and some fantasy creatures, it's an enthralling tidal wave of epic sea battles, balletic combat shocks and artful slow-motion, all stunningly designed and beautifully rendered with resplendent CGI augmentation. While Stapleton can't quite match the charisma of Gerard Butler's King Leonidas, a breathtaking Green does evil in the highest style possible, despite being saddled with the most risible dialogue.