: The movies use a "comic book" aesthetic with slow-motion "bullet time" effects and high-contrast colors. Protagonists :

In 480 BCE, the Persian Empire, under the rule of King Xerxes I, launched a massive invasion of Greece, intent on conquering the city-states and adding them to their vast territories. The Greeks, aware of the impending attack, prepared to defend their homeland against the invading forces.

In 480 BC, King Leonidas of Sparta receives a Persian messenger demanding "earth and water"—a symbol of submission to the Persian God-King, Xerxes. Leonidas famously refuses, kicking the messenger into a bottomless pit with the cry, "This is Sparta!". The March of the 300