It is indeed a cliched ripoff of past Roman films, exacerbated by needless computer animation

Rating: Null/10 (5 July 2002)

The story is just a cross between Ben-Hur (who is made a slave while his family is imprisoned by a naughty Roman bureaucrat) and Spartacus, the slave-turned-gladiator-turned-revolutionary. Fine, I can deal with that. But shouldn't a film about Roman times at least attempt to make viewers feel like they're in ancient Rome? Instead, we've got what almost appears to be a video game about colliseum fighting, with rapid moving, computer-generated adversaries slashing about and losing their heads almost out of theatregoers' sights. CGI has its place in the cinema I'm sure (though I have yet to see a film that utilizes it effectively), but not here. Watch it to pass time and for a very mild thrill, but expect no more.