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THE TEN GLADIATORS was apparently successful enough to spawn two sequels (I've seen the other two and they're great) and I have to say that this first film of the trilogy is mostly talk, talk, talk. A lot of pointless melodrama. And a bad attempt at comedy. The concept of a rogue group of ten gladiators is actually a pretty cool one because they give the impression that they could be totally unstoppable but still maintain a certain level of realism: together, they're as strong as a mythical character like Hercules but their prowess is grounded down to earth. But in the first movie, the explanation for the group's existence is not really elaborated upon, which is unfortunate because this aspect is one of the weakness in the first sequel, SPARTACUS AND THE TEN GLADIATORS (things improved with TRIUMPH OF THE TEN GLADIATORS). We never get to know how they became a group, we don't even know their individual names.This detail brings up the actual weakness of this film: the Ten Gladiators are basically supporting characters to the main storyline. In the following movies, the Ten Gladiators are the stars and focus of the story. And there's really no story here. The film rambles on here and there, and the result is pretty awful: one minute it's a gladiator movie, then it's a bawdy comedy, then it's a melodramatic "kill the Christians" story. There's no rhyme or reason to the story. The cast of actors is mostly identical to the sequels but aside from the 10 gladiators, the other actors play different characters. The most annoying addition to the crowded cast of characters is the midget. What a bad actor and serves no purpose at all to the story except for lame comedy to excite the little kids.The direction is unfocused. The pacing is slow. The production values are standard for these kind of movies. Nothing really stands out. The music is forgettable. The acting is...wait a minute, what acting? The 10 gladiators make an impressive bunch, including Dan Vadis who is not as developed in this movie as he is in the sequels. Not a great actor by any means, I find Vadis to be better than the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger. What happens to his character sucks though. All in all, THE TEN GLADIATORS is not really worth watching, even if you've seen the sequels first.
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