Spartacus Series Review

Spartacus [Spartacus: Blood and Sand] (2010-2013)

Season 1 Blood and Sand        - 13 episodes (2010)
Season 2 Gods of the Arena    -   6 episodes (2011)
Season 3 Vengeance                - 10 episodes (2012)
Season 4 War of the Damned  - 10 episodes (2013)   
Rent Spartacus on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Steven S. DeKnight
Starring: Andy Whitfield, Liam McIntyre, John Hannah, Lucy Lawless, Manu Bennett, Peter Mensah, Simon Merrells
Rated: TV-MA
Watch the trailer

Plot
The life of Spartacus, the gladiator who led a rebellion against the Romans. From his time as an ally of the Romans, to his betrayal and becoming a gladiator, and then the rebellion he leads and its ultimate outcome.

Verdict
It's certainly an engaging story, but it's very, very bloody and graphic. Spartacus is the core of the story as he initially wants to escape enslavement and later wants to free all slaves in Rome. Gladiator battles are a big part of the first two seasons which later becomes fights between Spartacus's army and the Romans. Political maneuvering is a constant as there's always a few characters trying to get ahead by any means possible. Even beyond and in part due to the blood, gore, and nudity, it's abhorrent how terrible slaves are treated in this society. Even different classes of Romans treat each other terribly. This is why we root for Spartacus to win, that and he's also the prototypical hero. The final season is a great conclusion to the story, ending strongly.
Watch It.

Review
The violence is heavily stylized, but this show has a blood lust unlike anything I've seen. Fight scenes utilize a lot of slow motion to emphasize attacks as well as a lot of CGI blood. It's brutal and bloody beyond anything you'd typically see. If you can stomach the violence and how terrible people are treated, this series is definitely worth watching for Spartacus's plight.

The easy comparison is Rome, though this uses a lot of green screen and is more stylized and artistic like 300 where Rome is more a historical drama.

My season ranking would be two, four, one, three. Season two provided nearly everything from season one with a better pace. With the fourth, Spartacus has a worthy opponent and the season as a whole is a great send off for the series. It's a culmination of the preceding seasons, though just from a story perspective season two is more intricate. Season four is a lead up to the final battle. In the final two seasons it's Spartacus versus Rome. We don't get the same level of political maneuvering as in the first two seasons. Season one has exciting gladiator battles and sets up the series, eclipsed by the second season. Season three became war focused, a bridge between seasons. I appreciate we no longer see people mistreated and abused, but that was also the reason we wanted Spartacus to overthrow the Romans. Season four does everything three does, but doesn't seem like filler for the final season. Overall this is a great series if you can stomach the blood, gore, and nudity. There are copious amounts of all.

The first seasons covers a lot of ground. We start with an unnamed Thracian who becomes enslaved by the Romans as a gladiator named Spartacus (Andy Whitfield) that rises to the rank of champion. Spartacus is the moral center of the show. Along the way we see the complications and fall of former champion Crixus (Manu Bennett). Batiatus (John Hannah) and his wife Lucretia (Lucy Lawless) are the masters of the gladiators. They're angling for political office. Nearly everyone is willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want. There is a lot of maneuvering and a lot of it uses the gladiators as favors for sex and combat. There's a huge class divided between Romans and slaves, but there's also a divide between the classes of Romans themselves.

Andy Whitfield plays Spartacus (season 1)

So many of these characters are so insecure, needing people to kneel, bow, and serve them. The Romans don't value anyone they deem below them. A spoiled kid can demand a gladiator kill his friend for entertainment. Batiatus can't stop it because he's trying to gain favor and couldn't possibly call out someone in a higher class than him less he lose the favor.

Season two is a prequel due to star Andy Whitfield's cancer diagnosis. I was concerned about a season without Spartacus, but this ended up being my favorite season, in part due to the excellent pacing.

Batiatus as always is trying to gain position, which never works out. He's running the house while his father is away. Gannicus (Dustin Clare) is the current champion, he'd rather party than fight yet that doesn't stop him from winning. Crixus is newly enslaved while Oenomaus (Peter Mensah) rises to the position of doctore, the gladiator trainer, during this season.

I hate how little people are regarded in this show. Romans don't give a second thought to men fighting to the death for entertainment or forcing men and women into sex as sport. Batiatus doesn't like it, but always bends because he wants to woo his superiors. Batiatus is always trying to gain position, and when his father comes back that doesn't go well. They're after different things. This show depicts Romans as blood thirsty hedonists. I should hope historically it's not so bleak.The gladiator battles are always exciting, though you can't escape the reasons behind them.

The second season benefits from brevity. We still get all of the fighting and maneuvering, but it's not longer than needed. The story and pacing are better, though no characters or actors are as impressive as Whitfield in season one. Part of that is that none are written to be the hero like Spartacus.

Liam McIntyre plays Spartacus (season 3-4)

Whitfield did not return for season three after his cancer returned, replaced by Liam McIntyre. Spartacus has liberated the slaves and now must thwart the Romans that are after him. This season lacks the gladiator battles that were such a spectacle in the first two seasons, but makes up for with plenty of fights. Instead of Batiatus and Lucretia as the scheming Romans, we get Glaber (Craig Parker) and Ilithyia (Viva Bianca) plotting against each other. Lucretia returns, and throughout the season you wonder what's her angle. The subtitle "Vengeance" is definitely true for this season. Glaber becomes obsessed with Spartacus, willing to sacrifice anything to beat him. While I like season two more, this season certainly has higher peaks with the battle between Spartacus and Glaber as well as Spartacus's attack on the arena. This season is the war between Spartacus and the Romans that leads into the final season.

Season four picks up where season three left off. Spartacus defeated Glaber last season and now he's fighting all of Rome. His main adversary is Crassus (Simon Merrells), finally a worthy opponent. While Spartacus's numbers continue to grow as he recruits slaves, Crassus has the money to buy a large army. We do see Julius Caesar this season as he rivals with Crassus's son Tiberius. The root of that problems stems from Tiberius being a spoiled child and wanting what his father has worked for handed to him. The entire season leads to the big battle in the final episode with all the bloodshed you'd expect, though there are twists and turns along the way. The final season is an epic send off, and due to that it's difficult not to rank it as the top season. It builds upon all the previous seasons. I'd still rank season two as the top, and it's difficult to rank one and four. I'd like to give Whitfield the nod, but season four is an epic conclusion to the story.