Spartacus: Blood and Sand (2010) Review

A new Spartacus show has been released and that means that I wanted to go back and watch one of my favourite shows. I was recommended to watch Spartacus by a friend many years ago and I loved it and now I am re-watching it and here is my review for the first season Blood and Sand. The premise of the show sees a warrior ripped away from his wife and forced into slavery, in order to survive and reunite with his wife he aims to become a gladiator and dominate the arena.

Main Character

Andy Whitfield plays Spartacus and he is fantastic. This isn't some brutish performance, this is a character that is really well layered and is easy to root for. He just oozes charisma and I loved watching the characters journey throughout the show. Tragically, Whitfield passed away after doing this season of the show but his legacy will live on with his great performance. 

Supporting Characters

This show has a huge cast and everybody does a fantastic job, so if I miss anybody just realise that every actor nails there role. First off is John Hannah as Batiatus the owner of The Gladiators, he is clearly relishing this role and absolutely nails it as this wicked but charismatic leader who is just manipulating the whole show. 

Lucy Lawless plays his wife Lucretia and she equals his devilishness and possibly even raises the bar. She is also clearly loving her time on the show and is really oozing in the evil charisma that her character is afforded. 

Manu Bennett plays Crixus and I love this character. He is a natural rival to Spartacus but he clearly isn't a straight up villain. The show does a wonderful job of showing his character arc and making him way more then just a generic rivalry. 

Peter Mensah plays Doctore and I also loved this character. Amongst all of the chaotic characters he brings real order and Mensah is super intense and makes it believable that he could control all of these other Gladiators. 

Story

The story is really good, it really gives our lead character a great story and makes us really care about his journey. But it also gives us super interesting supporting characters that are given time to be fleshed out and make us interested and cared about their plight. The issue I have is the finale feels a bit rushed, lots of things happen and they just seem to happen very fast which maybe takes away from the impact. 

Script

The script is great, some really great emotional moments between characters. You really feel like the actors are giving there all and really care about the characters that they have crafted for the screen. There are some humorous moments too that really make it work. 

Style

The show is full of sex and violence and it excels at both of them and it really fits the tone. The action scenes are great, it feels like these guys are gladiators and that they are really fighting to the death. The only issue is sometimes the show goes a bit too far with the style which takes away from some moments. Plus there is some truly terrible background CGI which makes it feel pretty dated. 

Overall

Overall, Spartacus: Blood and Sand is a Great show that nails its premise and delivers epic fighting with great characters and is a show that I loved watching. If you like shows with uber violence amid a historical backdrop then this is for you. 

Rating - 8/10