3. It Knows How To Do A Fight Sequence
One of my biggest pet hates is incompetently-shot fight scenes. Many, many movies and TV shows seem to commit the sin of subjecting me to epic battles tainted by the fact that I cant tell which blow landed where, or whos still in the fight and whos out, or what, exactly, just happened to make that gentleman do a back-flip in a shower of blood. The vicarious thrill of simulated combat can easily be spoiled by fighting that lacks weight, urgency, a sense of life-or-death excitement. Spartacus obvious use of CGI and its mammoth body-count sometimes make the violence feel less meaningful, but in general it does an excellent job of keeping the viewer exhilarated and invested, skilfully using slow motion to stress the impact of the most epic blows and takedowns. The constant training sequences in the first season emphasised the raw, deadly power of the gladiators; these are men turned into caged beasts, their skills at death-dealing honed to perfection and their destructive potential barely contained. This gave the actual arena battles more meaning, not to mention the (SPOILERS) finale, when they finally break out and slaughter most of Capuas ruling class in the process. The violence is also very inventive; Ive seen a decent variety of anatomical violation in the first season alone, which is always appreciated.