Ancient Rome : The Pulp Edition
TLDR - A silly but entertaining pulp fiction ride through the bloody underbelly of Ancient Rome, with surprising amount of historically authentic details, marred by quaint CGI and hodgepodge of fake accents.
While this does not come anywhere close to matching the gritty genius of HBO's Rome or dramatic splendor of I, Claudius, this however is the distant third best series about Ancient Rome I have seen, not counting comedy like Plebs. Significantly better than atrocities like The Baribarians or Domina, and much less nonsensical than Spartacus.
The good -
1. Some details aside, the show is remarkably accurate to broad historical events. Vespasian, a great general from humble background who rose to become Caesar and rescued Rome from destruction after the year of the four emperors. His sons, Titus the warrior, and Domitian the statesmen, both efficient in their own ways. Together the Flavians restored Rome to glory, engaged in massive public building projects including the Flavian Amphitheater (also know as the Colosseum). There are other bits that follow history such as Titus' scandalous affair with Queen Berenice of Judea, and his untimely demise under dubious circumstances. All this is portrayed in the show with relative accuracy.
2. Now I am no expert on gladiatorial combat or chariot races, so I can not verify how accurately all that was portrayed. But it certainly felt exhilarating, authentic, and meticulous. The races were particularly well executed. The roaring of the crowd, the sound of the metal chariots, the raging horses, the wheels skidding on the sands, the Imperial family seated in with a row of statuesque Vestals in front - audio-visual extravaganza.
The questionable -
1. Roman empire during the Flavian dynasty stetched from Hispania to Syria, from Britannia to North Africa. This immense ethnic diversity was especially prominent in the underbelly and arenas of Rome. This presents a massive challenge for casting in a TV show especially these days. The show largely tries to do right, casting English speaking actors with ancestry matching that of their characters, along with an Italian supporting cast. They did cast black actors as Numidians (historically North African Berbers), a widespread error in Western productions about Ancient Rome, but at least they had enough respect for history to clarify that these characters were of Nubian descent despite coming from Numidia, which made a lot more sense.
It does however create a hodge-podge of accents. Some Roman characters speak in English accents. Others in Italian accents. Some English actors try to imitate the accents of their characters, others don't. It is jarring and distracting.
2. The acting is a mixed bag. Some like Anthony Hopkins and Iwan Rheon are excellent. Others like the Flavian brothers are mediocre. Many other non-English actors clearly struggled with their dialogue.
3. For better or worse. The amount of flesh and blood in the show will put Game of Thrones to shame, bringing to mind the pulp fiction genre referred to in my title.
4. The story was simplistic and predictable, but engaging. I was still eager to see it unfold. Silly but entertaining, very Roland Emmerich.
5. Visual effects range from spectacular (Rome and its architecture, chariot races) to cartoonish (CGI animals).
The ugly -
1. I mentioned earlier that some historical details are sketchy. Foremost among these is the character of Domitian. He is already a controversial figure with two distinct legacies. He was much maligned by his contemporaries led by the Roman senate due to his autocratic rule and increased centralization of power. But most modern historians agree he was a highly efficient and effective ruler, with the longest reign since Tiberius. His policies paved the way for the Five Good Emperors - the longest period of stability of the Roman Empire.
This show creates a third version of Domitian. While still clever, he is shown as an overambitious decadent violent sociopath, with no interest in the ladies. None of this corresponds to history, and detracts from the otherwise overall historical authenticity of the show.
2. Kwame the Lion-killer and his family have plot-armor thicker than Jon Snow's at the Battle of the Bastards.
While this does not come anywhere close to matching the gritty genius of HBO's Rome or dramatic splendor of I, Claudius, this however is the distant third best series about Ancient Rome I have seen, not counting comedy like Plebs. Significantly better than atrocities like The Baribarians or Domina, and much less nonsensical than Spartacus.
The good -
1. Some details aside, the show is remarkably accurate to broad historical events. Vespasian, a great general from humble background who rose to become Caesar and rescued Rome from destruction after the year of the four emperors. His sons, Titus the warrior, and Domitian the statesmen, both efficient in their own ways. Together the Flavians restored Rome to glory, engaged in massive public building projects including the Flavian Amphitheater (also know as the Colosseum). There are other bits that follow history such as Titus' scandalous affair with Queen Berenice of Judea, and his untimely demise under dubious circumstances. All this is portrayed in the show with relative accuracy.
2. Now I am no expert on gladiatorial combat or chariot races, so I can not verify how accurately all that was portrayed. But it certainly felt exhilarating, authentic, and meticulous. The races were particularly well executed. The roaring of the crowd, the sound of the metal chariots, the raging horses, the wheels skidding on the sands, the Imperial family seated in with a row of statuesque Vestals in front - audio-visual extravaganza.
The questionable -
1. Roman empire during the Flavian dynasty stetched from Hispania to Syria, from Britannia to North Africa. This immense ethnic diversity was especially prominent in the underbelly and arenas of Rome. This presents a massive challenge for casting in a TV show especially these days. The show largely tries to do right, casting English speaking actors with ancestry matching that of their characters, along with an Italian supporting cast. They did cast black actors as Numidians (historically North African Berbers), a widespread error in Western productions about Ancient Rome, but at least they had enough respect for history to clarify that these characters were of Nubian descent despite coming from Numidia, which made a lot more sense.
It does however create a hodge-podge of accents. Some Roman characters speak in English accents. Others in Italian accents. Some English actors try to imitate the accents of their characters, others don't. It is jarring and distracting.
2. The acting is a mixed bag. Some like Anthony Hopkins and Iwan Rheon are excellent. Others like the Flavian brothers are mediocre. Many other non-English actors clearly struggled with their dialogue.
3. For better or worse. The amount of flesh and blood in the show will put Game of Thrones to shame, bringing to mind the pulp fiction genre referred to in my title.
4. The story was simplistic and predictable, but engaging. I was still eager to see it unfold. Silly but entertaining, very Roland Emmerich.
5. Visual effects range from spectacular (Rome and its architecture, chariot races) to cartoonish (CGI animals).
The ugly -
1. I mentioned earlier that some historical details are sketchy. Foremost among these is the character of Domitian. He is already a controversial figure with two distinct legacies. He was much maligned by his contemporaries led by the Roman senate due to his autocratic rule and increased centralization of power. But most modern historians agree he was a highly efficient and effective ruler, with the longest reign since Tiberius. His policies paved the way for the Five Good Emperors - the longest period of stability of the Roman Empire.
This show creates a third version of Domitian. While still clever, he is shown as an overambitious decadent violent sociopath, with no interest in the ladies. None of this corresponds to history, and detracts from the otherwise overall historical authenticity of the show.
2. Kwame the Lion-killer and his family have plot-armor thicker than Jon Snow's at the Battle of the Bastards.
- ayonijaprithuvainya
- Jul 21, 2024