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Critic Reviews
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As good as Rome is -- and it's an epic, multilayered thing of beauty -- it's still not on the level of "The Sopranos" or "The Wire" or "Deadwood." That's almost an unfair comparison, but it's also true. On the other hand, "Rome" unfolds like a marvelously shot big-screen movie, each scene (filmed on location in Italy) dripping with money well spent and a meticulous grandeur that rewards you for paying extra for HBO.
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HBO's splendid Rome recounts Julius Caesar's battle for power with a gritty ferocity that's closer to The Godfather and The Sopranos than to costume epics of old. Following Don Corleone's example, this 12-episode series makes you an offer you can't refuse: It's the best new drama of the fall.
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[A] captivating and undeniable classic. [26 Aug 2005, p.2E]
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Rome wasn't built in a day, the saying goes, and that applies to this show, too. It's a slow build that requires some effort on the part of viewers, but after the first three episodes, I was hooked. [28 Aug 2005, p.TV-3]
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A wild, careening chariot ride of a new series that debuts tonight. It's like The Sopranos in togas, except without even the faintest twinge of conscience. [28 Aug 2005, p.8]
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The only chink in the series' armour is the miscasting of Polly Walker as the evil Atia. She overacts so much, that it'll make you ache for Sian Phillips' long-ago portrayal as Livia in "I Claudius." While Rome's not as great as that old series, it's still deserves a helluva Hail Caesar!
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As extravagant, enticing and chaotic as Rome itself, HBO's latest series boasts all the opulent pleasures that lavish expenditures of time and money can buy. Every detail in its re-creation of ancient Rome may not be correct, but the spirit and the overall picture ring true -- and the entertainment value resounds.
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Rome delivers high-quality television bursting with grimy, down-to-earth life. [26 Aug 2005]
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I haven't seen ancient ordinary life so well represented since "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," and I am not being funny.
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No, it's not "groundbreaking," as HBO calls its programming. And I doubt it will give the ratings-slipping channel its much-needed hit. But it will probably find a small, loyal, "Deadwood"-size audience that enjoys a good serial melodrama charged up by a villainess named Atia who turns mothering into something akin to pimping. [26 Aug 2005, p.D1]
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It demands your attention to keep the many plot threads from tangling, and at times requires a strong stomach, but you never know what to expect next, and that beats the ridiculous reality series seen on every other channel. Give me gore over gonzo any day. [27 Aug 2005, p.8]
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The finished product is passably entertaining, intermittently involving, tolerably well acted by an all-English cast, and offers enough kinky sex and graphic violence to satisfy all but the most depraved tastes. [22 Aug 2005, p.D-1]
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Less perverse than ``I, Claudius,'' more entertaining than ABC's toga twister ``Empire,'' Rome gets off to an uneven start. [25 Aug 2005, p.47]
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Whether Rome attains that stature is entirely up to the Nielsen gods, but one thing is certain: The series is a lusty, violent, rollicking saga that is sure to seize plenty of initial attention, if not for its ravishing production values, then for its rampant depiction of ancient-style decadence and debauchery. [27 Aug 2005, p.F4]
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It's a much more impressive spectacle than ABC's mindlessly entertaining Empire.
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Rome is most entertaining when it laces its wild, ancient antics with winks of the pedestrian.
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While the first hour is daunting, the series offers a terrific villainess who also has a knack for humor. [28 Aug 2005, p.F-03]
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Amply seasoned with treachery, lechery, debauchery, depravity, nudity and infidelity, HBO's Rome also tends to fall victim to filmmaking's cardinal sin - tedium. [28 Aug 2005, p.3]
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After watching six episodes, I'm still not sold on the overall worth of this ambitious period drama.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 208 out of 220
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Mixed: 7 out of 220
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Negative: 5 out of 220
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Nov 14, 2011
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Nov 17, 2010
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Jan 12, 2015