Serving up the second season of the splashy, trashy Starz original series Spartacus (the first was subtitled Blood and Sand), this sex-and-swordplay gladiator drama is very loosely based on the Stanley Kubrick classic (inspired by the Howard Fast novel). The show's original star, Andy Whitfield, sadly died of cancer after the first year, so Liam McIntyre steps into the role of Spartacus, the leader of the escaped slaves, now hiding in the wilds and hunted by the Romans. Meanwhile, Lucretia (Lucy Lawless) miraculously survives the previous season's massacre finale, returning wounded, dazed, and convinced that she speaks for the will of the gods. While Vengeance is over the top like its predecessor—full of soft-core nudity and loads of crimson CGI spatter and flying limbs—it's also a little more knowing in its balance of outrageousness and camp, as it shifts from slave melodrama and arena spectacle to the righteous vengeance of tormented rebels. But let's not confuse this with history; it's still all sex and violence and mercenary schemes. Compiling all 10 episodes from 2012, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, interviews, and bloopers (the Blu-ray release adds extended versions of nine episodes and audio commentaries). Optional, at best. (S. Axmaker)
Spartacus: Vengeance
Anchor Bay, 3 discs, 572 min., not rated, DVD: $49.98, Blu-ray: $59.99 Volume 27, Issue 6
Spartacus: Vengeance
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