‘Those About to Die’ Review: Anthony Hopkins Barely Stars in Peacock’s Standard-Issue Gladiator Drama

“American Gladiators” aside, gladiators don’t have an extensive TV history. They’re a risky subject matter for studios to spend a lot of money on. Ancient Roman historical dramas aren’t as popular as more established television genres like fantasy or sci-fi, but require a similarly epic scale, with grand sets, large casts and extensive special effects. You can count who’s tried sword-and-sandals on one severed hand: HBO in 2005 with “Rome” and Starz in 2011 with “Spartacus.” And even in the free-spending years since “Spartacus” ended in 2013, no streaming service has attempted a gladiator series — until now.

Peacock’s “Those About to Die” is entering the streaming colosseum, kicking off the gladiator wave of 2024-25 ( “Gladiator II” and a “Spartacus” revival series will follow). Hollywood is betting that men are ready to think about the Roman Empire again. “Those About to Die” is the first fighter to face the lions.

“Those About to Die,” which premieres on July 18 with all ten episodes, is standard-issue Roman Empire extravagance. The series hits its familiar marks with gusto, thanks to an experienced team of executive producers that includes writer Robert Rodat (“Saving Private Ryan”) and director Roland Emmerich (“Independence Day”). The show does what it sets out to do, and whether the story it tells is enjoyably familiar or tiresomely clichéd is a matter of personal preference.

The series is set in 1st Century Rome during the Flavian dynasty, and isn’t particularly devoted to historical accuracy. It’s based on Daniel P. Mannix’s fictionalized history book “Those About to Die,” which also served as inspiration for “Gladiator.”

As the series starts, Vespasian (Anthony Hopkins) is emperor. He knows he won’t be around for much longer, and he’s struggling to decide which of his sons to appoint as his successor: Titus (Tom Hughes), the soldier, who is noble but politically unsophisticated; or Domitian (Jojo Macari), the politician, who is savvy but villainous. Vespasian is building a giant amphitheater whose violent entertainments will keep the people of Rome on his side, and whose business structure will minimize the influence of the Senate.

Lower down the social scale is Tenax (Iwan Rheon), an ambitious businessman who rose from poverty to become the owner of Rome’s most profitable betting tavern. His friend Scorpus (Dimitri Leonidas), the best charioteer in the city, helps him fix races. Tenax and Scorpus, with Domitian’s help, seek to upend tradition and add a fifth chariot faction at the Circus Maximus, where previously there had always been four.

And at the bottom of the social pyramid are Cala (Sara Martins-Court), Kwame (Moe Hashim), Aura (Kyshan Wilson) and Jula (Alicia Ann Edogamhe), a family from North Africa. When Cala’s son and daughters are taken to Rome as slaves, where the girls are sold to powerful people and lion-hunter Kwame is forced to fight as a gladiator, she follows, intending to free them. She makes a fateful deal with Tenax to help make it happen.

The show has many, many more characters — there are over 100 actors’ names listed in the closing credits — and the plot moves quickly, with alliances constantly forming and collapsing and characters getting killed off. There’s always a lot going on, and it’s a credit to Rodat and Emmerich that the story is easy to follow. (Veteran blockbuster filmmaker Emmerich directs five episodes, while Marco Kreuzpaintner [Netflix’s “Bodies”] directs the other five.) The writing is straightforward and the acting is theatrical. Again, whether you find it endearingly true to gladiator genre tradition or overly expository and hammy comes down to taste. Either way, Rodat and Emmerich know what they’re doing.

The cast is led by Rheon as Tenax, an Al Swearengen-like antihero who is willing to do anything to get ahead. Rheon, who embodied unadulterated evil as Ramsay Bolton on “Game of Thrones,” gets to show off some range here. He has the intensity of his best-known character, of course, but he also demonstrates vulnerability and even occasional flashes of warmth.

Unadulterated evil on “Those About to Die” is handled by Macari (“Sex Education”), whose sadistic, scheming Domitian is reminiscent of Joffrey Baratheon. The character is one-dimensional, but Macari brings him to life by leaning into excess. He bugs out his eyes and over-enunciates like he’s Peter Lorre doing Shakespeare in the Park. It’s an over-the-top performance, but it’s fun and genre-appropriate.

As the intelligent and determined Cala, Martins-Court (“Death in Paradise”) brings dynamism to the character. Cala’s discovery that she’s actually really well-suited to Rome’s cutthroat society is one of the show’s most interesting threads. And Hashim (“Ted Lasso”) is the emotional heart of the show as Kwame, a decent man who is forced to fight for no good reason.

Despite being promoted as the series’ star, Anthony Hopkins’ screen time equals approximately how long it takes to drink a cappuccino in a Roman café — and he’s not exactly giving the full Tony to the scenes he is in. Peacock is doing the “geezer teaser” marketing strategy of hiring a big star for a small role and presenting them as if they’re the main character. Which is fine; Peacock needs people who signed up for the Olympics to stick around and watch “Those About to Die,” and Hopkins is by far the most familiar face in the cast. And the rest of the ensemble is strong enough that Hopkins is not missed when he’s not around. But if you go into “Those About to Die” expecting Hopkins to play a John Dutton or Logan Roy type of character, you will be disappointed.

You may also be disappointed by the visual effects, which lack texture and seem improperly lit. When it came to CGI options, it appears that the producers went with fast and cheap. The hand-to-hand combat, however, is well-choreographed and exciting.

“Those About to Die” is not a prestige drama. It’s old-fashioned pulp from the man who brought the world 1998’s “Godzilla” and “The Day After Tomorrow.” It’s loaded up with incidental sex and nudity like a mid-2000s HBO show — specifically “Rome,” whose footsteps “Those About to Die” proudly follows, even filming at the same studio, Cinecittà, the iconic Italian facility that was also home to classic Hollywood epics “Ben-Hur” and “Cleopatra.” “Rome” is a rare show that actually may have been prematurely canceled — it was renewed for a second and final season that performed better than HBO expected — so fans who have been holding a grudge about that injustice may appreciate gladiators being on TV again.

But “Rome” won Emmys. “Those About to Die” will not. It’s entertaining, but not unforgettably so. Despite being executed at a high level and being the first streaming drama of its kind, it’s actually pretty unambitious. It’s satisfied being a competent revisitation of something that’s been done before. It’s a bread-and-circus (and boobs-and-blood) spectacle that’s fun while it’s happening but leaves little impression after it’s done. To paraphrase a more enduring gladiator saga, “Those About to Die” is shadows and dust.

“Those About to Die” premieres Thursday, July 18, on Peacock .

The post ‘Those About to Die’ Review: Anthony Hopkins Barely Stars in Peacock’s Standard-Issue Gladiator Drama appeared first on TheWrap .