Rome: Passover...

[fajrdrako]

When season one of Rome first aired, I watched a couple of episodes, and for all that I really wanted to like it, I found it boring, and gave up.

Since various friends have been recommending it to me, I decided to try again. So tonight I watched the first episode of series 2.

Bottom line: I was still not impressed. Even though I really like James Purefoy, who plays Marc Antony - and I really like the historical Marc Antony. I think both Purefoy is very charismatic as an actory and Antony should be brimming with charisma, but I don't see it in this performance; though admittedly Antony had some good lines, he was bland. The actor playing Brutus was cute - Tobias Menzies - but he wasn't in it enough. I was wondering why I didn't see Indira Varma, until I looked up what character she played and saw that she was dead Niobe. Right. Of course, I should have recognized her all the more, because she mostly plays a dead person in Torchwood, albeit a more mobile one.

Hypocritical Cicero was terrific. I've never liked Cicero. (The enemy of my friend is my enemy.)

Basically it all seemed artificial to me. Staged. I was never convinced these were real people. All the performances seemed to me to be on the same note, the same tone. A problem with the directing? I didn't really like anyone, including the characters I like historically.

In short: bored. And disappointed.

Comments

[firko.livejournal.com]

I also gave up on Rome season 1 although I love love love James Purefoy (and this gives me an excuse to use my James icon!).

It felt as if the story had been sexed and gored up to be deliberately controversial, which made me convinced that it probably wasn't that good in the first place (and I think I was right). It also seemed to be 'jumping on the bandwagon' of the success of Gladiator. Season 2 has reached here yet, but I probably won't bother.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Oooh, nice icon!

There was no sex scene in season 2 episode 1, just a bit of implied sex between Antony and a slave, which was (I confess) a little disappointing. There was a lot of blood and violence.

I liked "Gladiatior" because Maximus was all macho and heroic. (It wasn't a brilliant story, though.) "Rome" struck me as being about a lot of posturing and not much real feeling.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

I was wondering why I didn't see Indira Varma, until I looked up what character she played and saw that she was dead Niobe. Right. Of course, I should have recognized her all the more, because she mostly plays a dead person in Torchwood, albeit a more mobile one.

This is now conjuring the delicious image of Suzie on the loose in ancient Rome...

I hope she's not settling into a niche role of playing dead?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I hope she's not settling into a niche role of playing dead?

One would think an acting career of playing a series of corpses would be kind of limiting - but on the other hand, look how many movies and TV shows have dead people in them. It might be a steady source of employment.

[silverwhistle.livejournal.com]

Mind, Suzie was hardly an ordinary corpse...

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Nor was she ordinary when alive.