Should there be any doubt whether history is actually bunk, 300 proves it beyond dispute. It is about the celebrated battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC, when 300 Spartans under Leonidas successfully sacrificed themselves by decimating a huge horde of invading Persians under the legendary Xerxes, thus saving Western civilisation.

Zack Snyder's movie, faithfully based on Frank Miller's graphic novel, paints the battle in the primary colours of an all-out action movie.

The brave Spartans are the toughest bunch of hombres who smile at the thought of "a beautiful death", and realise that "freedom isn't free. It must be bought by blood".

They seem to take a morbid delight in hacking their enemies to death: 300 makes Fight Club look like a gentle workout in the gym.

Snyder, who made Dawn of the Dead, mythologises Thermopylae in comicbook terms with brutish battle upon battle as the freshly oiled, suitably pumped up and strutting Spartans play merry hell with the body-pierced, "boy-loving" Persians, equipped with ferocious elephants and rhinos.

If the film looks a treat, it is because it is both stylised and stylish, heightening reality much like an advertisement for a carbon-belching 4x4.

The dialogue is of the kind that fans of comic books delight in, and the acting, with Gerard Butler leading the way as King Leonidas, and Rodrigo Santoro as Xerxes, is perfunctory. But you can't fault anybody for their fighting skills, or the production designers for the buckets of blood on display.

The problem is that almost two hours of this kind of stuff palls somewhat. You get the impression that not only does it come from a position near the extreme Right wing of the spectrum, but that its mixture of homophobia and macho posturing has a very odd smell about it.

If the effete Persians are made into probable perverts, up to no good at all on the sexual front, the Spartans seem likely to be very much at home at an exclusive bondage club.

You pity the Spartan queen, Gorgo (Lena Headey), who seems to be there solely to be roughly serviced by Leonidas, as if to underline his heterosexuality.

Wallow in it if you like, but don't think about anything in the film for a moment. It might do you permanent damage.