A Bit Long, But A Solid Epic

Rating: 8/10 (26 October 2006)

This isn't "Ben-Hur," but it's no slouch, either. It's a no-nonsense dramatic tale of a slave who leads a revolt against Rome, is successful in building the movement from almost nothing to an army of thousands, only to be beaten and literally crucified in the end.....but leaving his mark, to use a cliché, on history.
The prelude to the final battle scene is awesome-looking when you see all the soldiers lined up. I liked the fact they didn't overdo the action scenes, which they could easily have done employing a cast of thousands. While they cut those down, they cut down on the overall length of the movie which was over three hours long. At two-and-a-half hours this would have been much easier to view.
Kirk Douglas, as "Spartacus," the leader of that revolt, was excellent and Peter Ustinov shines, too. The dialog given Ustinov and Charles Laughton was intelligent. This movie also featured the acting talents of Jean Simmons, Laurence Olivier, Tony Curtis and John Gavin. Not bad, eh?
A solid adventure story.