10 War Films Where The Villain Kills The Hero
6. 300 (2006)
Here we are travelling back to the Persian Wars of 499 BC in the fictional retelling of the Battle of Thermopylae.
King Leonidas leads 300 Spartan warriors into battle against the oncoming Persian army (which historians state could have been up to 150,000 strong) as they looked to conquer Sparta, and later, Greece.
En route, they are joined by a few thousand Arcadians and kill many Persian scouts that had been sent ahead of the main bulk of the army. Their bodies are used to build a wall, blocking the primary route through to Sparta. Together the Spartans and the Arcadians fend off several waves of the advancing army, suffering very few losses.
Even after King Xerxes of the Persians tempts Leonidas with wealth and sends in the Immortals (Xerxes' elite guard and best fighters) Leonidas and the 300 remain unmoved.
Following the betrayal of Ephialtes, a deformed former resident of Sparta, the Arcadians flee and Artemis is sent back to Sparta to warn them of what was happening. The Persians flank the 300 and seriously outnumber them. Despite a brave last stand, all of the Spartans are killed.