One of the most truly entertaining shows of recent years, Spartacus: Blood And Sand is a blood-soaked boob fest from US cable channel Starz (new home to Torchwood) which mixes the best elements of sandals and swords in a gladiatorial arena.
Welsh-born Oz-based actor Andy Whitfield is one of the new breed of action heroes who, alongside Gerard Butler and certain cast members from Twilight and True Blood, combine 1980’s physiques akin to Arnie and Sly with considerably better acting chops in order to cut it in the world of modern blood-letting entertainment.
Whitfield is an obvious stand-out as Spartacus, the slave who is wronged by the Roman Republic and must earn his freedom with constant bouts in the gladiatorial amphitheatres, but he is ably abetted by John Hannah (The Mummy) and Lucy Lawless (Xena: Warrior Princess) as the scheming couple Batiatus and Lucretia, who run the training school where similar warriors are coached to kill.
The first season seems a little padded at 13 episodes – one almost hopes that The Walking Dead could trade off episode numbers in the second season with Spartacus since that show certainly required more time to breathe where Spartacus could easily do with less. Perhaps that state of affairs has been regrettably imposed since Whitfield is currently battling cancer and so the second season of Blood And Sand has been filleted with the genesis show Spartacus: Gods Of The Arena, a 6 episode quickie prequel that gives us the back-story of key characters. Season 2, due early next year, will see the title role recast with Australia actor Liam McIntyre.
Regardless, as a stand-alone experience, Spartacus: Blood And Sand scores high on the gore quotient and also has a surprisingly brave approach to nudity that only a pay-per-view cable show could peddle in the ever more chaste US media. It can easily be compared to the likes of 300 – the colour palette at times more than echoes that of Zack Snyder’s film – but whilst it isn’t as po-faced as that Spartan tale, you’ll find more than enough unique viewing in this solid tale.
Released on DVD and Blu-ray on Monday 16th May 2011 by Anchor Bay Home Entertainment.