The first season of “Spartacus” was a 300 visual approach to the classic tale of a gladiator’s uprising.
With the actor in the title role battling disease, the second season became a
prequel rather than a continuation of that uprising, but it also allowed for
more characters to be introduced and for the inevitable conclusion dragged out
a bit longer. Season three brought us back to the place where season one left
off, with Liam McIntyre stepping into the role of Spartacus. It also creatively
blends the characters and plot developments of the prequel season to make
Vengeance the most entertaining season. Unfortunately, War of the Damned is
unable to match the energy of the previous seasons, seemingly dragging its feet
to a bloody conclusion.
As the story develops beyond the gladiator battles and into
the battlefield, this season follows the path of the slaves and gladiators as
they continue to build an army to take down the Romans hunting them down. In
this season the head of the Roman army is Marcus Crassus, who utilizes the kind
of back-handed politics this show is known for in order to get his position
against Spartacus. The all-out war is paired with the difficulties Spartacus
must face in a decision-making position of the leader. This is especially true
when they take a Roman city and Spartacus refuses to kill the innocent people
living there despite his increasingly rebellious army.
The final season has ten episodes, though it feels as if
nothing is happening in the middle. Many episodes have their obligatory violent
fight and graphic sex scene, but it has gotten almost to be a parody of itself
by now. The visuals are also far less engaging than previous seasons, almost as
if the elements from before are being dialed in without the same passion. When things
look good, they rarely look as good as they have, and the violence seems to
force shock value over spectacle.
The Blu-ray special features include a featurette on those
lovely visual effects, along with a handful of featurettes which all seem to be
talking about the same thing; the revival of the Spartacus narrative. Exclusive
to the Blu-ray are audio commentaries and extended episodes.
Entertainment Value:
8/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Disc Features: 7/10
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