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How entertaining? ★★★★★
Thought provoking? ★★☆☆☆ 21 April 2013
This a review of SPARTACUS: WAR OF THE DAMNED. |
“Only a city can hold us now, and we shall tear one from the flesh of Rome, and salt mortal wound with blood and death,” Spartacus
And so the finale is upon us. It has been a ride of ridiculously guilty pleasure proportions. Violence, sex and nudity all delivered with conviction, and no quarter given to prudes. Slipping into a routine for the opening 10 minutes of each episode – fisticuffs, followed by a love scene; you may roll your eyes, but you do so with sly smile at the unabashed Dionysian excess the makers unleash. Four seasons in (including the prequel, GODS OF THE ARENA), the swords n’ sandals subgenre has never been so fruitily delivered. All with delectable pseudo-ancient dialogue – “The reason is simple, you stand absent choice.”
And so the finale is upon us. It has been a ride of ridiculously guilty pleasure proportions. Violence, sex and nudity all delivered with conviction, and no quarter given to prudes. Slipping into a routine for the opening 10 minutes of each episode – fisticuffs, followed by a love scene; you may roll your eyes, but you do so with sly smile at the unabashed Dionysian excess the makers unleash. Four seasons in (including the prequel, GODS OF THE ARENA), the swords n’ sandals subgenre has never been so fruitily delivered. All with delectable pseudo-ancient dialogue – “The reason is simple, you stand absent choice.”
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WAR OF THE DAMNED is the climax, and if the gloves weren’t completely off, they are from now on. The initial scene of episode one, ‘Enemies of Rome’, cements the mould for the rest of the series: A super-stylish battle, where the gore is not skimped on, and stepped up. All done in beautiful slow-mo (remember 300, the definite forbear), and occasionally in MATRIX-style bullet time, where the camera encircles the carnage in freeze frame. At one point a Roman soldier’s head is squished in rage-fuelled adrenaline. If you’ve got this far into the show, the sadomasochism is not going to surprise you. (If you are a newbie, start with BLOOD AND SAND, and enjoy dear reader.)
Having finally confronted Claudius Glaber in the previous season, VENGEANCE, the ranks of freed slaves have swelled into a city-sized community. Once a Thracian soldier before captivity, Spartacus seamlessly takes on the mantle of general and leader, and is constantly torn between bringing the empire to its knees, and evading capture. His council comes from his most lethal colleagues, and former gladiators: Crixus, Agron and Gannicus. The four of them are like an ancient A-Team, and they are the head, heart and arms of the show (without feeling like cyphers.)
Venom permeates “the rebel Spartacus”, as the enemy frequently calls him, at injustice, but the death of Glaber has assuaged part of the anger, and in its stead is a desire to protect his people while also permanently putting an end to slavery. Spartacus’ nimble mind and gifted fighting ability is met by the most formidable foe of the show, Marcus Crassus, the richest man in the nation and hugely ambitious. The latter funds an army to take on the rebellion. WAR OF THE DAMNED becomes about the art of war – tactics and the search for weak elements to exploit.
The denouement is, among the cacophony of blood and guts, surprisingly emotional.
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