Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington only gave us a glimpse of the battle-heavy sequel to Gladiator that will arrive in theatres later this year. But before that, there's a 10-episode-long close-up with the nasty, bloody, and violent Roman antiquity in Those About To Die, lead by Anthony Hopkins. This new series, directed by Roland Emmerich and based on the Daniel P. Mannix novel of the same name, initially published in 1958, has a great premise. But alas, there are too many angry men hovering around the screen to locate the political deceit beneath all the spectacle. 

Who's the Roman emperor?

"Man dead or alive, still worth more than horse meat!" is what a scheming Roman ruler tells his kids in the first episode. It is all exposition and groundwork, and it better be so, because there is so much to cover that it does get exhausting to keep track of what is happening after a while. After Rome's emperor Nero took his life, what followed was a Civil War, which was called the 'year of Four Emperors.' Out of them, the one who emerged victorious was Emperor Vespasian (Anthony Hopkins), who is now pinned in between the games of his two sons, Titus (Tom Hughes) and Domitian (Jojo Macari).

Who's the gladiator?

Of course, there's the underbelly, where we meet the other counterpart of the narrative, Cala (Sara Martins). She is a Numidian mother, whose world turns upside down when her daughters Aura and Jula (Kyshan Wilson and Alicia Edogamhe) are captured and enslaved for denying a creepy soldier's advances. Cala follows her daughters, where she also finds her son Kwame (Moe Hashim). Kwame has a rare gift and agility that sets him apart as a promising fighter. He is sold to the world of gladiators, where he must prove his worth.

Mixed feelings

Amid these two elements, there are more supporting characters introduced in the mix with sudden jump cuts and haphazard plot points. It is a reckless move, that ultimately thwarts the momentum of the show as it moves ahead. I wondered why screenwriter Robert Rodat didn't approach the material with an even hand, where the drama feels woefully squeezed out of one scene arc before the viewer has had a chance to know the characters properly. It is like a tick-the-box approach to making a prestige historical drama where all the elements are presented with garnished CGI frames. It feels saturated and overcrowded from the first episode itself, unable to hook the intrigue into one plot point.

Anthony Hopkins is just there, sleepwalking in a supporting role as if he seems to have no idea what he is doing here. It's a performance that falls prey to predictable writing and careless narrative structure. Only Hashim's turn as Kwame lends the show some much-needed depth and ferocity. The anticipation fades into repetitive plot points and trope-y character motives. Those About To Die is extravagant, sluggish, and painfully overlong. This will not be my Roman Empire.

Those About To Die is available to stream on Prime Video.

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