300 (2007)

Another film based on Frank Miller’s work, 300 followed a similar approach to Sin City in that it hewed close to its source material, retaining the hyper-stylized aesthetic and in-your-face approach to violence. Gerard Butler leads the film as King Leonidas, who marched his army of 300 Spartans to face the overwhelming Persian army of the self-professed “god-king” Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). Though the film (like the comic) takes great liberties with the historical account of the actual event, director Zack Snyder places greater emphasis on spectacle, and demonstrates a visual flair that has since become his trademark with subsequent comic book adaptations like Watchmen and Man of Steel.