Spartacus
The TV series Spartacus is set in ancient Rome. We follow a Thracian (whose real name remains unknown), that has been taken away from his homeland and brought to Rome to be executed in the arena as a gladiator by Glaber, a Roman Praetor. Spartacus survives the execution and kills his executers. The Romans soon recognise his potential and decide that Spartacus will make a good addition to the Gladiators. Explicit sex and graphic violence is found in this series, I recommend those of a more mature audience to watch this.
Religion and race also have a part to play in this series. Many of the slaves that have been captured from the Romans come from all parts of the world, from Syrians, Egyptians and Thracians. There is a theme of religion throughout, and many characters make reference to whether or not the gods are "in their favour", they also mention the afterlife a lot, and how they shall meet if they die.
I personally enjoy the explicit sex and the graphic violence, I feel that it adds to how the Romans lived as a lot of what they did revolved around these two points. The fact that the crowd cheer for death while people fight in the arena for their pleasure adds to the sense that the Romans have a sick sense of morality. The fighting scenes are brutal and exciting to watch, the decapitations seem to never get old and the fights finish with a satisfying end. There is random meaningless sex in Spartacus, however love also plays a big part. Spartacus' wife which has been serparated from him feuls his hate for the Romans, (SLIGHT SPOILER HERE) for example Animais and Gannicus, both close friends, separated for the love of of Animais's dead wife. (SPOILER END)
However, due to the frequent deaths in Spartacus, there isn't much character development. It seems like a lot of the time you meet a new character and within two episodes he no longer has a head, they do manage to keep the main characters alive long enough for you to establish a connection though. Characters and also seem a bit shallow with their personality, but yet again, the main characters have great personalities, such as Ashur the Syrian Serpant and Ilithyia, the wife of the Praetor Glaber.
All in all I will say Spartacus is a great watch, each season is very different to the other, making sure you don't get bored. The first season, Spartacus: Blood and Sand can be compared to the move Gladiator, while the second (Spartacus: Vengeance) and the third (Spartacus: War of the Damned) can be compared to 300. Note that the actor for Blood and Sand, Andy Whitfield is replaced by Liam McIntyre as Andy sadly passed away from cancer. It took some time for me to get used to the new actor but I think he plays the part well, but I still think that Andy was a better Spartacus. I give Spartacus an 8.5/10, a must watch in my opinion.
RATING: 8.5/10
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