Those About to Die (2024) review: Making Rome relatable

Before sitting down to watch this ten-episode Empire offering, it had been written in certain quarters that this was like travelling back in time to Ancient Rome, would increase tourism in Italy’s capital, and is the greatest work based on the genre that’s ever been made. All three are bold claims, which we’ll aim to answer through the course of this review.

What we can be sure of is that Those About to Die, as with all its predecessors – from I, Claudius to Plebs – gives you as much vice and corruption as you can handle. And with Anthony Hopkins playing the Emperor Vespasian, the hopes were understandably high.

It’s a falsehood to say that Ancient Rome is something that’s been done to death in TV and cinema, but it’s going to take an original and refreshing angle to deliver something to knock an audience’s socks off. Those About to Die manages this surprisingly easy, but falls a little short on other areas that should’ve been a comparative walk in the park to pull off. How much of it was borrowed from Daniel P. Maddix‘s novel of the same name may have something to do with that, but it’s no excuse if that’s the case.

Let’s start with the aforementioned Sir Anthony, as he’s criminally underused here. Whether it’s down to the man himself preferring to take a back seat in his old age, or the script, who knows? But the fact is that, the less you see of Hopkins, the more you kind of wish some of the others weren’t hogging the dialogue so much. Having said that, it’s a high-calibre cast, including Iwan Rheon (Game of Thrones), Sara Martins (Death in Paradise) and Rupert Penry-Jones (Whitechapel). In all honesty, the acting isn’t the greatest but more than adequate, so where are the positives, I hear you cry.

The charm of Those About to Die lies in it being so down-to-earth. The dialogue is on an everyday level, something many a Roman epic can’t lay claim to. The language has sometimes been too Shakespearian, for wont of a better word, but here we have an everyday kind of speak; Ancient Rome in layman’s terms, if you like. The storyline is simple enough to follow, yet still complex enough for you to pick your own heroes and villains. The year is 79 A.D, and whilst the Roman Empire is at its peak, its subjects are growing restless. Free bread and spectacular entertainment, by way of chariot racing and no-holds barred gladiatorial combat, are maybe not quite cutting the mustard, what with the influx of slave labour from other parts of the Empire. What’s the answer? Of course, some grand design that goes by the name of the Colosseum.

It doesn’t stop with the script. With gambling on gladiators as one of its primary themes, there’s an edge to it that anyone, anywhere in the world can relate to. A serious version of Plebs? Xkk meets Plebs? You decide. The language is easy on the ear without ever being vulgar; costumes and scenery are suitably lavish; whilst the CGI animals and gladiatorial scenes are something to behold. To answer the three questions posed at the beginning, it’s probably a big, fat “no” to all three, but those are nion impossible standards to reach so don’t let that put you off.

Ten episodes was probably taking things a tad too far, which is ironic considering that the first instalment doesn’t mess about, but this is an entertaining effort nonetheless. Those About to Die is available now on Prime Video.