Tweet
Released by: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Released on: September 3, 2013.
Director: Various
Cast: Liam McIntyre, Dustin Clare, Manu Bennett, Dan Feuerriegel
Year: 2013
Purchase From Amazon
The Series:
And so begins the end as War Of The Damned brings to its conclusion series' creator's Stephen DeKnight's take on the story of Spartacus. Picking up where the last arc in the continuity left off, the ever controversial show once again takes us back to the days of ancient Rome to offer up the final chapter of the slave revolt around which the show is based. As with the story arcs that preceded it, the show does not want for sex, nudity and graphic violence - much stronger than most have seen on TV before, but that there is half the charm. Everything about the series, from the performances the set design to the digital effects work is so over the top that it's hard to imagine the series being nearly as fun had the exploitative elements been toned down in the least.
When the story beings, Spartacus (Liam McIntyre) has teamed up with Crixus (Manu Bennett) and Gannicus (Dustin Clare) to lead the slaves in bloody revolt against the armies of the Roman Empire. They won't win an easy victory but they manage but Spartacus figures that to really win their freedom they're going to have to set up a city fortress of sorts in order to have a location that will serve not only as a stronghold but also as a headquarters.
As they set about making this a reality in hopes that once accomplished it will allow them to really ramp up their military operations, the powers that be in Rome lick their wounds and look for ways to replace soldiers lost in battle and refill their coffers. The Senate decides that the best man for this job is a wealthy Roman named Marcus Licinius Crassus (Simon Merrells). He comes in with enough money to help and is more or less put in charge of the military forces dedicated to putting the slaves back in their rightful place. While Crassus sets about doing this, a young Roman man named Julius Caesar (Todd Lasance) is brought on board for the specific purpose of going undercover and making his way into Spartacus' inner circle…
Spartacus was a series that seemed damned early on, not just because its content became the subject of some controversy but chiefly because its initial leading man, Andy Whitfield, was perfect in the role - and then tragically died, leaving some very big shoes (sandals?) to fill. Enter Liam McIntyre as his replacement, a relative unknown with only a few credits to his name. Would it work without Whitfield? McIntyre proved pretty quickly that it would. The series sticks to the same formula that made the earlier storylines so much fun - lush production values, sex, epic and bloody battles, sex, backstabbing political types, sex, nudity, sex and more sex. It's trashy TV at its finest, a series that makes no qualms whatsoever about playing up not only the decadence of the Roman Empire during which it has been set but also the more violent side of life during those times. It doesn't go for realism so much as it does sensationalism, playing everything to eleven and relentless in its pacing - the series is all the better for it. Underneath all of this surface level insanity, however, is a pretty well told story. Characters develop nicely and are given interesting personalities and the various plot lines that are woven throughout the series can occasionally be intricate and genuinely surprising. As such, there's a good amount of suspense here that gives the trashy element a reason for existence (or so we'll tell ourselves).
The other cast members all do good work here as well. Merrells and Lasance are both great on the opposing side of McIntyre and company as the soldiers. Performances are rarely, if ever, subtle but they fit the tone of the story and of the series as a whole. Merrells, in fact, tends to steal any scene he's in even if he occasionally chews the scenery. Throw Ellen Hollman as a female warrior named Saxa and Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Naevia, Crixius' main squeeze, and you can see that the ladies not only look great here but they hold their own in front of the cameras as well.
The series ends on a high note, bringing together everything it laid out beforehand rather nicely. Would it have been possible to stretch it out further? Sure, but then you run the risk of the series starting to become old hat and with it already being repetitive in certain ways this far in, that was probably a legitimate concern on the part of the writing crew. As it stands now, the series remained a solid watch all the way through, a show that put entertainment first and it's easy to see why this quickly became and stayed a fan favorite.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Spartacus: War Of The Damned on Blu-ray in an AVC encoded 1080p 1.78.1 widescreen high definition presentation that really looks very good. The show is shot in a fairly specific way with a lot of attention paid to color reproduction and style, but this doesn't come at the cost of fine detail. The image is certainly a stylized one, but close up shots often times look reference quality with long distance and medium shots also generally impressing. As the series progresses, you'll start to pick up on just how much picture information there really is here, noting how facial hair and stubble differ from character to character and noticing the craggy lines in various faces that appear throughout the show. Detail isn't limited to just the actors, however - the texture that you'll notice in the costumes worn throughout the show is impressive as is the amount of detail that you'll pick up on seen in the various sets that are used. Black levels generally look nice and strong without sucking out the shadow detail while color reproduction is typically very good, though sometimes leaning towards the hotter side of the palette, obviously a stylistic choice on the part of the producers. There are a few spots where this 'hot' looks makes some of the darker scenes a bit too bright looking and the series does tend to really pump up the reds of the bloodshed that is so frequently seen on screen (again, a stylistic choice, but one that might irritate some), but aside from that, this series looks excellent.
The English language Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix that this set sports is pretty great stuff. Surround activity is a constant, particularly during the action sequences, and there are a lot of really impressive directional effects to marvel over. Levels are well balanced throughout while the show's dialogue stays clean and consistently easy to understand. The score is punchy and powerful enough to really punctuate some of the more dramatic moments, as a good score should, without overpowering the performers. Generally this is a very active series and the mix here represents that really nicely. Every clank and clash of a sword is audible, as is every crack of a whip - the action scenes benefit the most from the surround activity but even more dramatic moments have some nice ambient noise in the background to fill things in really well. The low end is particularly strong, offering thundering bass when the material calls for it but not to the point where the rest of the mix gets lost. There aren't any alternate language audio tracks offered but, but optional English closed captions are provided, as are optional Spanish subtitles.
Extras include a selection of audio commentary tracks as follows:
Enemies Of Rome: executive producer Rob Tapert, director Mark Beesley and producer Chloe Smith
Wolves At The Gate: writer/creator/executive producer Stephen S. DeKnight, actor Manu Bennett, actor Liam McIntyre and actor Simon Merrells
Men Of Honor: Stephen S. DeKnight, actor Dustin Clare, actor Anna Hutchinson, and actor Todd Lasance
Decimation: Stephen S. DeKnight, Simon Merrells producer Rick Jacobson, actor Christian Antidormi
Blood Brothers: Stephen S. DeKnight, Manu Bennett, director TJ Scott, and actor Dan Feuerriegel
Spoils Of War: Rob Tapert, Mark Beesley and visual effects director Peter Baustaedter
Mors Indecepta: Rob Tapert, director Jesse Warn and executive visual effects supervisor Charlie McClellan
Separate Paths: Stephen S. DeKnight, Manu Bennett, Liam Mcintyre and producer Rick Jacobson
The Dead And The Dying: Stephen S. DeKnight, Anna Hutchinson, Todd Lasance and actor Cynthia Addai-Robinson
Victory: Stephen S. DeKnight, Rob Tapert, Liam McIntyre and director Rick Jacobson
Lots of good information scattered throughout the various tracks pertaining to stunts, effects, sets, locations, character development and more. The tracks with Tapart and DeKnight tend to be the most in-depth as these guys really got behind the series.
From there we also get some pretty interesting featurettes starting with a nine minute history of the series entitled Spartacus: The Legend Retold, which is basically a look back at the show from the first season to the last with some cast and crew input. The four minute The Price Of Being A Gladiator looks at the training and fitness regimen required of the actors who play the gladiators in the series while A Bloody Farewell lets the cast and crew speak for three minutes as to their thoughts on the end of the show. The five minute long The Spoils Of War Revealed: Visual Effects segment, not surprisingly, spends a bit of time exploring what the effects team does on the show and how they do it while Adorning The Damned pays the same respect to the team responsible for the show's costumes over four minutes. Last but not least we get The Mind Behind Spartacus which is a seven minute interview with DeKnight who offers up his take on the series and how it all turned out.
The Final Word:
A fitting end to a delightfully trashy series, Spartacus: War Of The Damned brings it all to a worthy conclusion without sacrificing any of the gratuitous sex and violence that the series has earned its reputation with. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray set looks and sounds great and contains a pretty serious collection of supplements too. If you're a fan of the show, this one is a no-brainer and a solid release overall.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
