Having spent some time in Greece and Italy as a student of Mediterranean culture, I find this genre fascinating. Unfortunately, the tale of Spartacus has been done on film so many times since 1909’s Italian silent version, it is hard to bring anything new to the party, and this 2004 version made for TV certainly doesn’t.

Croatian heart-throb Goran Visnjic does his very best in the lead role, but he still looks like Dr. Kovac of ER pretending to be the slave who led the revolt against Rome. His total lack of a plan is probably the one innovation this version offers, as his tribe heads north, then south, then north again. The camp speech about the strength of arrows together was stolen from Japanese lore, not Thrace. It made me wonder how many other liberties were taken with historical facts.

At 177 minutes, Spartacus is a long movie. But unlike the 184-minute version made in 1960, starring Kirk Douglas and winner of four Oscars, it does not keep you enthralled from start to finish. Could have been shorter and better, IMHO.