Inconsistently paced epic

Rating: 7/10 (21 August 2007)

"Spartacus" has many scenes of note, but it unevenly paced. The first segment of the film shows Sparatcus' life as a slave. This part is engaging as we see the animosities that develop between Spartacus and the slave-masters and the camaraderie that develops between the slaves. The second part of the film, showing the aftermath of slave revolt, starts with a number of tedious scenes as the slaves slowly formulate their plans. Occasionally Herbert Lom's character breaks up the tedium in the slave camp with his dealings with Spartacus, but usually seeing the politics and machinations on the Roman side was more interesting. All of this culminates in a well-paced and well-shot final conflict followed by a strong ending.
Kirk Douglas is solid as Spartacus, who turns from difficult slave to revolt leader with conviction. Jean Simmons is also excellent and strong as the female lead, Varinia. Peter Ustinov is notable as the somewhat timid yet resourceful slave trader. Charles Laughton is perfect as the devious Gracchus and Laurence Olivier gives an intricate and compelling performance as Crassus.
"Spartacus" has a number of memorable scenes as performances, but is inconsistently paced and contains a number of tedious scenes.