300 tells the story of King Leonidas (Gerard Butler) the king of the Greek city-state of Sparta during 480 B.C. He leads his warriors against the massive Persian army. The sacrifice of the spartan warriors inspired all of Greece to unite against their common enemy.
It is a true masterpiece of its genre. There are lots of good and inspiring movies like 300. In this list, we nominate ten films with related themes such as warrior-kings, gladiators, sword-fighting legends, and the underdog vs empire movies.
Best 10 Epic Movies Like 300
1. Braveheart (1995)
William Wallace (Mel Gibson), a late-13th-century Scottish warrior, leads the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence against King Edward I of England. The Academy Award Winning (10 Oscars!)
Braveheart is a timeless epic movie. It will take your breath away – with its amazing landscapes, thrilling events, and unforgettable performance by Mel Gibson. If you are looking for historic accuracy, you might want to avoid the Hollywood version of William Wallace. But, if you are a huge underdog fan, then definitely check out Braveheart.
2. Outlaw King
The true and unknown story of the Robert de Bruce, who for one extraordinary year in 14th-century Scotland, turned from a defeated nobleman into a reluctant king and a hero declared a criminal. After being forced to fight to save his family, people, and his country from the English occupation, Robert seizes the Scottish throne and leads an impromptu gang of warriors to face the world’s most powerful army, led by the cruel King Edward I and his impulsive son, Prince of Wales, Edward II, probably England’s worst king ever.
The story of a few brave men taking on an empire is very much like the movie 300. Outlaw King delivers the goods in terms of drama, action, and climax. It shows how one decision can affect an entire life. Chris Payne as De Bruce and Florence Pugh as his wife play exceptionally well and take the characters as a personal project. Another thing that is no less visually mesmerizing is the set backdrop of the film and the costumes. After examination, except for a few inaccuracies and a few creative liberties it can be said that everything is suitable for the period in question.
3. Furious (2017)
Evpaty (Ilya Malakov) is a medieval knight, who leads a small army as the unstoppable Mongols trying to invade Eastern Europe. A story of a legendary battle, where seventeen fearless warriors defend their land against an army of thousands of well-trained soldiers.
In the 13th century Mongol warrior hordes and their leader, Batu Khan, controlled most of the known world. As the Mongols move towards Europe they invade the last Russian principality standing in their way. Little do they know, their plans are about to be ruined by a small detachment of heroic strong men led by a mysterious brave warrior.
This is a story about courage, endurance, and self-sacrifice for the sake of one’s country. This is the story of Evpaty the Furious. Based on real events and characters, this epic movie is exciting and full of action. For history and action film lovers, this film is a true hidden gem.
4. Gladiator (2000)
Maximus (Russell Crowe), A former Roman General sets out vengeance against a corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.
The academy award winner for best film, is an epic movie, with amazing visual effects action, gladiator battles, and drama scenes. Directed by Ridley Scott, this movie is a true Hollywood masterpiece.
5. Agora (2009)
Hypatia (Rachel Weisz), is an astronomer and philosopher in the 4th century. She teaches her students scientific beliefs. When one of her students falls in love with her, she is confronting a battle between science and Faith.
With breathtaking visuals, action, and drama – Agora is a movie like 300 recommended for history genre fans. But it is also an epic romantic love story for drama lovers.
6. Spartacus (2004)
Spartacus (Goran Visnjic) is a slave life In the remote Egyptian countryside of the Roman Empire. His strength makes him the perfect man to lead a rebellion against Rome.
Goran Visnjic gives a genuine performance. This film is a really good choice for a movie night – it is full of action with great visual effects.
7. Clash Of The Titans (2010)
Perseus, son of Zeus (Liam Neeson), is caught in a war between gods and is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), the god of the underworld. He leads a group oF warriors on a dangerous quest. They must prevent Hades from overthrowing the king of the gods and destroying the earth.
Clash Of Titans is pretty mediocre. But if you are looking for movies like 300, it has great epic battle scenes, stunts, and effects without thinking much about the plot and characters.
8. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)
Our next pick for movies like 300 is a box office success and the second-highest-grossing film of 1991. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is undoubtedly the most popular cinematic version of the legend of Robin Hood. Robin of Locksley, a young nobleman who followed King Richard the Lionheart to Jerusalem and has been imprisoned there for five years, returns to England only to find his father’s rotting corpse suspended in their ruined home castle.
When he finds out that his father was murdered by the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham, Robin vows to fight against him. He settles in Sherwood Forest with a band of outlaws and leads them in the struggle against the tyranny of the Sheriff. The movie is beautifully photographed, the battle sequences are tense, and Alan Rickman does a great job as the Sheriff of Nottingham, with a fantastic evil accent, hatred of Robin, the horrible plots, and of course one of the familiar quotes in the history of cinema: “I will cut your heart out with a spoon.”
9. The Last Samurai (2003)
Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), is a former army Captain and alcoholic, traumatized by the battles during the American Indian Wars. When he accepts an offer from his former commander Colonel Bagley (Tony Goldwin), to help train the newly created Japanese Army to fight a Samurai rebellion, he has to confront his past demons and ends up embracing the people of Samurai culture after he gets captured by them.
This epic Academy award nominee movie The Last Samurai, is a state-of-the-art Hollywood film. It will take your breath away from the first scene with outstanding visuals and performance by Tom Cruise. It’s the classic few warriors vs an empire, like the movie 300.
10. Red Cliff (2008)
Red Cliff captures the last days of the Khan dynasty. In order to unite the whole of ancient China under the emperor’s flag, his Majesty’s Army Minister sets out to subdue the last two rebellious kingdoms. Despite their rivalry, the two pamphlets each other in an attempt to form an alliance that will stand bravely in front of nearly a million soldiers of the emperor’s army.
Here is another classic underdog vs empire movie like 300! John Wu’s epic Chinese historical action drama manages to be both a wide-ranging historical epic in the best of Chinese tradition, as well as an action-packed and blood-splattering action film in the best of the director’s legacy. Just do not expect greatness from the storyline.