Critic Reviews
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70
Metascore
Generally Favorable
positive
31(72%)
mixed
10(23%)
negative
2(5%)
Showing 43 Critic Reviews
Jan 28, 2014
100
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.
Jan 28, 2014
100
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.
Jan 28, 2014
90
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]
Jan 28, 2014
90
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]
Jan 28, 2014
88
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.
Jan 28, 2014
88
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!
80
Turns like this take the series further into Aaron Spelling territory than it ever was, an idea that may offend those who can't let go of the notion that HBO is supposed to be better than regular TV.
80
This splendidly acted melodrama delivers a bloody good time barreling toward oblivion, delivering enough political intrigue, violence and sex to slake even the most debauched viewing appetites.
80
Though every detail of this lush Roman epic feels palpably authentic, history lessons don’t loom overly large; what’s most enjoyable about it is how deftly it mixes soap opera with senatorial debates.
