Freedom isn't free at all. It comes at the highest of costs - the cost of blood." Based on Frank Miller's celebrated graphic novel, 300 recounts the epic Battle of Thermopylae, at which the 300-strong Spartan army fought to the bloody death against the might of the vastly superior Persians. Writer-director Zack Snyder adapts the story for the big screen as a bruising war epic awash with muscular men, whose rippling torsos and impressive six packs are enough to make even the most body-conscious man feel inadequate. Outside of the adult entertainment industry, rarely has so much swaggering beefcake been crammed on to one screen.

Snyder remains faithful to Miller's striking vision, shooting almost the entire film on specially created sets augmented with computer special effects. It's a breathtaking, ravishing feast for the senses in the same way that Sin City, also based on a Miller graphic novel, was a tour-de-force of production design. Colours are saturated and the contrast between light and dark intensified to bring an almost photographic quality to the bloodshed - and there is carnage aplenty as the Spartans and Persians clash in a series of increasingly brutal skirmishes. In some of the film's most arresting sequences, the Spartans face creatures of all shapes and sizes including battle clad elephants and rhinos, and sword-wielding fiends on horseback.

The hero of the story is King Leonidas (Gerard Butler), who defies the advice of the Oracle and the Spartan Council to lead his 300 men against the might of the Persians, led by the despotic Xerxes (Rodrigo Santoro). As hordes of heavily armed soldiers attempt to break the Spartan might, Leonidas and his brothers - including his loyal Captain (Vincent Regan), Dilios (David Wenham) and the youthful and exuberant Astinos (Tom Wisdom) and Stelios (Michael Fassbender) - hold firm, withering the bombardment.

Meanwhile, back in Sparta, Queen Gorgo (Lena Headey) tries to thwart the political scheming of Theron (Dominic West) and the Council.

300 quite clearly has ambitions to be this year's Gladiator, with romantic scenes between Leonidas and Gorgo that could have been borrowed in their entirety from Ridley Scott's Oscar-winning epic. Unfortunately, Snyder's screenplay doesn't flesh out the relationship in sufficient detail, relying on a softly lit love scene to establish the characters' undying love: "Your lips can finish what your fingers have started," gasps Gorgo saucily.

The body count is phenomenally high; in stark contrast, characterisation is perfunctory, even the relationship between Captain and his son Astinos. Obvious homoerotic undertones are kept to a minimum: this is a macho, Hollywood blockbuster after all. Butler looks the part - amusingly, some of his co-stars noticeably suck in their stomachs - barking every word, like his warning to Xerxes: "The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, the few stood against many, and even a god can bleed!"

Released to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the passing of the bill that outlawed the slave trade in the British Empire, Amazing Grace is an impassioned history lesson painting crusading reformer William Wilberforce as nothing short of a saint. Director Michael Apted struggles to navigate the choppy waters between Wilberforce's political ambition and his private concerns, ultimately beaching his beautifully crafted picture on preachy and shamelessly sentimental middle ground.

Ioan Gruffudd cuts a dashing swagger in the lead role, delivering keynote parliamentary speeches with gusto (and a discernible twang of his native Welsh accent). He brings into stark contrast the character's fiery determination, driven by what he believed was a divine purpose, and his ailing health, battling against a severe bout of influenza: "My idiotic body's playing games with me again," he jests.

At the beginning of the film, Wilberforce's good friend William Pitt the Younger (Benedict Cumberbatch) is poised to become England's youngest prime minister. He persuades Wilberforce to join the ranks of the House of Commons and spearhead the argument for the abolition of slavery, in the face of vociferous resistance from Lord Dundas (Bill Paterson) and the Duke of Clarence (Toby Jones).

African slave Olaudah Equiano (Yousso N'Dour), who bought his freedom and has written a book about his extraordinary ordeal, joins Wilberforce's abolitionist movement along with MP Lord Charles Fox (Michael Gambon) and Thomas Clarkson (Rufus Sewell). Investing every waking moment in the fight for freedom, Wilberforce pays scant attention to the warning signs from his weak, exhausted body.

He is not even moved by the concern of Barbara Spooner (Romola Garai), the headstrong young woman who becomes his wife. (The wedding scene was shot at Garsington Church.) She begs: "You've given your youth and your health for this cause. It's time to give someone else a try."

Pioneering the use of boycotts and petitions to score political points, Wilberforce continues his fight through his 20s and 30s, continually seeking guidance from his mentor John Newton (Albert Finney), the author of the titular hymn.

Distinguished by impressive detail and Jenny Beavan's costumes, Amazing Grace makes light work of a tumultuous period in British history, when a few brave men dared to challenge the widely held beliefs of the many. Screenwriter Steven Knight distils the key points of Wilberforce's crusade with ease, and peppers the character's dialogue with some powerful turns of phrase, whether it be Lord Dundas booming "This ship of state must not be sunk by a wave of good intentions", or Newton's observation, "God sometimes does his work with gentle drizzle, not great storms".

Scenes between Wilberforce and Pitt are especially touching - Cumberbatch delivers a particularly compelling supporting performance.

Gambon brings a roguish quality and a twinkle to his eye to his old timer, and N'Dour beings dignity and inner strength to his former slave.

Unfortunately, Garai is rather short-changed by the script; screen chemistry with Gruffudd is completely inert.

You would never believe that Wilberforce and Barbara were ever in love.