Spartacus - Blood and Sand: STARZ TV Series Review

For months I have been watching the previews on STARZ for Spartacus Blood and Sand. Starring Andy Whitfield, an Australian actor and Lucy Lawless from Xena: Warrior Princess. So when January 22nd finally arrived I was curious to see if it was going to be an epic series worth watching.

What I got was a cross between the movies 300 and Gladiator. It was a poor remake of the two. The visual effects were reminiscent of the 300 with it's graphic book animations and gory theatrical blood. Also the story line was cut from Gladiator. However, because I really enjoyed the story from the ladder movie, Spartacus Blood and Sand did not turn me off.

The first episode starts with a warrior from a rural village in Thrace (which is presently known as Bulgaria) . The young warrior who is later dubbed Spartacus, has a commanding presence and his honorable demeanor makes him a leader of his men. The story takes place during the time of Roman rule, before the rise of the royal Caesars. With political turmoil brewing and the Getaen warriors encroaching, Rome seeks to recruit auxiliary warriors from the Thrace villages. The warriors swear allegiance to the Roman Empire, with the condition that all the Getaen barbarians are eliminated. Spartacus says his goodbye to his wife Sura. She is reluctant to see him go to war, because of a foreboding dream she has.

During the campaign the Thrace warriors and Spartacus are betrayed by the Roman leader. This leads to Spartacus and his men deserting the battle and becoming outlaws from the Roman army. Soon after returning to his wife they both are captured. Spartacus is sentenced to death by fighting in the Gladiator arena and his wife is placed into slavery. Thinking that he will never see his wife again, he is resigned to his death. However, Spartacus is victorious in his fight for his life by killing all of the Gladiators. While the rest of his comrades that were captured with him are slaughtered. The end result is that the slave Spartacus is sold and made into a mighty Gladiator. With all of the political intrigue in Rome at the time Spartacus will be used as a pawn between the Roman fractions.

I did love the heroism of the character Spartacus and his unfailing love for his wife and because of this...I will continue to watch the upcoming episodes. Just to see if the Hero rescues the Heroine in the end :). In all honesty, I love European history. So anything I can find in books, movies or television that has any historical connotations in it, I'm in!! I am looking forward to seeing the next episodes and hoping that this story will have a different twist from 300 and Gladiator.