This was my first time watching Spartacus. In many ways it is a remarkable movie. There are breathtaking shots that you will never see in any other film. But on another level it is very long-winded and imperfect. I'll start with the good things.
A word about extras. Hollywood seems to hate them these days. Perhaps for good reasons, monetary-wise. They must be paid, wrangled, clothed and managed in every way. They are necessary, but computer animation has found ways to reduce their number. Look at the epic battle sequences of today and you will see hordes of clone warriors clashing on a computer-generated canvas.
I always knew it was no substitute and now I have proof. Spartacus contains wonderfully framed shots with throngs of extras. These shots stole my breath. Imagine, if you can, a hillside crowded with pilgrims spilling down its side like rivulets of rainfall. Imagine thousands of Roman soldiers in tight battle-lines marching-in step toward you in such vivid detail that you can see the sunlight reflected in their weapons and shields.
I've seen movies with a cast of thousands but never before like this.
But now for the not-so-good. Let's start with the star, Kirk Douglas. Spartacus is a man of few words. Usually characters of this stripe have impressive things to say when they deign to open their mouths. Not so with Spartacus. He tends to say obvious stuff. Douglas lends to the role a certain gravelly manner of growling, but fails to convey to the audience what Spartacus is thinking when he's not talking. Spartacus has no dimension of character beyond all the gruff and gravel, other than a perfectly virtuous soul. It kinda made me want him to die.
Because I didn't buy the uncharismatic Spartacus, I didn't buy his romance either. It made me want the girl to die.
The plot is compelling up until the last act. The movie essentially ends after a climactic battle sequence. But wait, no! It keeps on going and going! The minutes turn to millennia as the story repeatedly fails to resolve itself. It made me wish director Stanley Kubrick, writer Howard Fast and screenwriter Dalton Trumbo would die. But how do you kill that which is already dead?
Maybe it's just me, but the dubbing seemed to have problems too. Half the characters spoke with gruff voices that sounded straight out of the mouth of a big thug from an Anime flick.
That all sounds pretty negative, but most of the bad fell to the wayside as I was watching it. In the end, I was always curious to find out what happened next and dazzled by the spectacle of it all. I would recommend strongly it for history buffs like myself, but I suspect it would irritate most people.
3 defeated Roman cohorts out of 5
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