Why Roman epic Those About to Die has split the critics

The "streaming gods" have crowned 2024 the "Year of the Gladiator".

First came the BBC One "Gladiators" reboot, where "good-looking bodybuilders in unitards chased people with jobs in marketing up walls", said Matt Blake in Esquire. This was followed in July by Paramount Pictures' trailer for Ridley Scott's "smoulderingly anticipated" sequel "Gladiator II". 

Now, Peacock has "thrown its helmet into the amphitheatre" with an extravagant new series, "Those About to Die", available to UK viewers on Prime Video.

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'Glaring flaws'

Based on the 1958 Daniel P. Mannix novel of the same name, the 10-part series takes viewers into the "seedy underbelly" of ancient Rome, said the London Evening Standard. 

Set in the year AD79, the action follows ageing emperor Vespasian (Anthony Hopkins) as he contemplates his legacy and prospective heirs. His scheming son Domitian (Jojo Macari) steps up plans to usurp his brother Titus (Tom Hughes) and seize power with the help of the ruthless crime boss Tenax (Iwan Rheon). 

The "irresistible opportunity to spend between seven and ten days acting in a toga" was probably more attractive to Hopkins than the lacklustre script, said Daniel Fienberg in The Hollywood Reporter. And while his performance "isn't awful, just pointless", it's scheming brothers Domitian and Titus that put on the best show.

A hefty chunk of the visual effects budget must have been blown on securing Roland Emmerich, who directed half the episodes, said Alison Herman in Variety, because the wide shots of historic temples and crowded racetracks have "all the detail and grandeur of an elaborate Lego set". 

Other efforts to capture the audience's attention are "laughably overused". "I'm no anti-sex puritan but we see so many players mid-coitus that, by the season's midpoint, a bare nipple elicits barely more than a yawn." However, while Emmerich is no "highbrow auteur" and the show has some "glaring flaws", there is something about "Those About to Die" that makes it "surprisingly compelling to watch".   

'Cheaper thrills'

"Those About To Die" winds up being a "fairly satisfying binge", said Jack Seale in The Guardian, while never having "enough control of its characters to be seriously good". Dramas built around power battles should feature at least a few "zinging verbal showdowns" – something that's distinctly lacking from the show due in part to the overwhelming number of half-baked storylines. 

Instead, "Those About to Die" excels at "cheaper thrills" like the "disgustingly effective" arena fights. Expect "ravenous CGI lions", "neck-breaking chariot races" and thrilling fight scenes "choreographed more tightly than a Stanley Kubrick sex scene", said Esquire. And while it lacks historical veracity, added The Hollywood Reporter, does it really matter? Audiences are here for the "lion-mauling" and "limb-chopping" – of which there is plenty.

A "grand spectacle bathed in blood, sweat and derivative writing", the show can be "extremely messy" and "infuriating" at times, said Ferdosa Abdi in Screen Rant. But even though it tested my patience, "I still had fun watching".