I had higher hopes


I have to say that usually I have been pleasantly surprised by Netflix's original series/creations and that when I saw this entry I immediately added it to my watch list. I think that Orange Is The New Black was for the most part pretty decent and Marco Polo including the Hundred Eyes special were superior.

This entry however is unwatchable. Like one reviewer I couldn't even get past the first episode before I threw it in. I've seen high school plays that were more believable with better casting and even as much as I like Sean Bean his narration just added nothing. This isn't history or even historical fiction it's fantasy. It's as though someone said how much do you suppose we could get wrong with a Roman miniseries and people will still watch it? Someone else said just add some hot women and a few gratuitous sex scenes and all will be well. Kind of like 90% of the comedies from the 80's. Plots don't matter as much as bare boobs!

I was thinking of adding if I was a preteen I might've found this interesting, but even then I had better taste in terms of action if not yet a better grasp of history. Thank God for the Ninja trend of the late 80's ha ha. Save your time, and go watch something with Will Ferrel. I hate Will Ferrel with every ounce of my being so that is saying something.



“The critic has to educate the public; the artist has to educate the critic.”

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I'll admit that I only started watching this because Sean Bean narrates and I love his voice, but it was rather disappointing. I am not an expert on Roman history so some of the inaccuracies that others have complained about didn't bother me. I am a mild history buff so I was hopeful and willing to give it a chance, but by episode 4, I was bored with Aaron Jakubenko. Yes, he is nice eye candy for the ladies, but he just does not have the depth and range to carry six episodes of this. Possibly he was underplaying Commodus so as not to make him a caricature or perhaps to be different from Joaquin Phoenix' interpretation or maybe he just doesn't have that ineffable "it" of onscreen presence, but in the end, his portrayal just didn't work for me. I found Narcissus (Edward Turner) much more interesting.

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I agree. I'm halfway through the second episode at the part where Commodus is getting married, and I'm wondering what the heck the pictures they are showing have to do with a royal roman wedding. Some of the pictures have priests presiding over the marriage. There are lots of other discrepancies too. It's mostly rubbish I'm afraid.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Morgana0x

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Unfortunately, I couldn't agree with you more, Hillius.

Another disappointing series set in the Roman era, right on the tails of the disastrous Barbarians Rising "Docudrama".

I have simple expectations, if you make a drama I don't expect historical accuracy, but it better be entertaining. If you make a documentary with expert narrators, it better be factually accurate and light on agenda. With a docudrama, I expect the same level of accuracy, but not as much depth and at least some entertainment to help tell the story.

To be fair, these new shows have some great predecessors to live up to:
Gladiator (movie)
Rome (HBO)
and even Spartacus from STARZ.

None of those qualify as documentaries, but all were immensely entertaining. Rome went to great lengths to be factually accurate with respect to Roman history and customs.

Best docudrama IMHO: Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire
Even so, it doesn't hold a candle to Rome.







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If you "hate Will Ferrell with every ounce of your being" then you're way, way, way more ridiculous than this show will ever be. He's an actor playing in movies I suppose you don't enjoy, if this makes you hate him I really don't know what to say.

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I agree

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