Closely adhering to the plot of Zack Snyder's 300, the film follows Spartan king Leonidas (played by former Eastenders actor Sean Maguire) as he leads his band of soldiers off to fight the invading Persian army.

But with a hunchbacked Paris Hilton, break-dancing enemies and a Transforming evil emperor Xerxes in the way, will the Spartans save the day?

The general approach to these so-called parody movies of late seems to be this: barrage the audience with as many jokes as possible in the hope that at least one in ten will get a reaction.

And Meet The Spartans is no exception.

From the get-go a host of unconnected and puerile 'gags' are shamelessly hurled at the viewer, ranging from over-used slapstick to general gross out.

With little left to ironically self deprecate like Scary Movie did for the horror genre, the writers fall back on easy pop-culture references to generate comedy.

The result plays more like an episode of Dead Ringers with a few good look-alikes bringing Britney Spears and Simon Cowell to the screen, rather than the quality spoof it desperately wants to be.

While Maguire does a great job mimicking Gerard Butler's Leonidas, and impressionist Nicole Parker impresses with her celeb copying, the lack of any recognisable name twinned with limited set pieces suggests cheap laughs on an even cheaper budget.

To throw in a supporting cast including Carmen Electra doing what she does best (standing around in skimpy clothing, thrusting her chest out and Kevin Sorbo cements the films standing as a third rate comedy.

While some younger audiences may get a kick out of the sexual innuendo and recognisable celebrities being mocked, if you're after a solid spoof comedy then go and watch Airplane.

3/10 – A limited number of genuine laughs barely saves yet another dismal spoof