Nitpicking is only criticism

Rating: 9/10 (19 November 2005)

There is so little to find wanting in this film and not wanting to merely repeat its many deserved praises, all I can do is question a couple of historical points.
It is unlikely that a Roman general would be sold into slavery and forced to fight in the arena. Exiled, yes. Killed maybe. Asked to commit suicide to retain his property, most likely.
It is unlikely that he would return to find his family crucified, of all things. Romans were very specific about who got crucified and why. Romans usually avoided it, no matter how cruel the tyrant(?) was.
Roman legionnaires would NEVER have a tattoo unless they were barbarians who got one BEFORE joining a legion. Marking or mutilating the human body was expressedly anti- Roman. No statue or depiction exists of a main-period Roman showing a body-marking. The bonding feature the writer was attempting was an inappropriate borrowing from the 20th century German SS.
Great entertaining movie nonetheless.