You know it, I know it. Most remakes fall into the realm of the completely fucking pointless. But given just how awesome the whole story of Spartacus is, this one can't possibly be all bad - right? Right?
The stated goals of this retelling are to follow the novel more closely, and to remove some of the historical inaccuracies from the original movie. I'll be honest, I didn't even know that Stanley Kubrick's original 1960 effort was based on a novel, so I have no idea if it suceeds in the former. As far as the latter is concerned, perhaps it suceeds in some areas, but at the same time it creates its own inaccuracies.
A small friend of mine pointed out to me that even the opening shot is of a modern industrial forest. Then there are the weirder errors - there is a particularly mystifying scene towards the end, in which Crassus is outraged at having to share the consulship with Pompey. "A shared consulship? This has never before been seen in Rome!" says one man. Huh?
Before I watched the mini-series, I did wonder exactly which inaccuracies were to be corrected. Would Spartacus himself be portrayed more realistically, perhaps, as less of a hero of the people and more of a complex character? Would the revolt be portrayed not as an effort to end all slavery in Rome, but as a far more straightforward steal-their-shit-then-lets-leg-it operation?No such luck.
Spartacus is every bit the righteous, heroic figure who was portayed by hollywood forty-four years earlier. He sets about with the goal of ridding the world of the evils of slavery, as well as apparently promoting equal rights for women this time round. He probably wants to prevent global warming, too.
Goran Višnjić isn't all that bad in the role. The only truly toe-curling peformance comes from Angus Macfadyen as Crassus - yes, that is the Laurence Olivier role in the original. Quick tip, Angus, if you're going to take on any Olivier role, try a little subtlety and restraint in your performance.Macfadyen doesn't even look like Crassus. To avoid ranting any further, I will simply use these images to sum up my feelings on the matter:
In a sense, I could almost recommend this mini-series simply because it will remind you of how good Kubrick's Spartacus really is.
While this is a TV mini-series, and such is apparent in the quality of directing, it actually runs about the same length as the original movie. And yet it feels so much longer. It has none of the technical mastery, none of the dramatic engagement of the excellent Kubrick version.
If you do decide to watch it, set aside six hours rather than three - you may feel a strange impulse to see Olivier in a toga.
