I got one major problem with this review.
…Basically, it’s that – OK, this is subjective, I admit. But: the beginning of Gladiator? The bit with the war? That bit was absolutely great. They could have sustained an entire movie on that war. Try to tell me that you wouldn’t have watched a whole movie that was more of this:
I think that I’ve ranted about this before, so I’ll stop now.
Gotta disagree with you, Moe. At first contact, the Roman line lost all cohesion. Control of the battleline was kinda what they were known for. For a better representation of Roman tactics, see the first episode of Rone.
Well, if we’re discussing tactics then there wasn’t any need for the Romans to advance in the first place. I’d have ordered the artillery to keep whacking the Germans with incendiaries until they finally broke and charged the line. The combination of volley archery fire and the flanking cavalry attack would have worked just as well, and you’d lose less Romans that way.
My issue isn’t about the tactical situation, it’s about how the army is trained to fight. Showing the Roman formations immediately dissolving into a wild swirling undisciplined melee is kind of akin to having WWII tankers drive up to an enemy position then get out of their tanks and engage with small arms.
Fair enough. However, I feel that my larger point remains valid: you could easily get two hours’ worth of watchable movie out of Roman legions fighting a pitched battle.
That’s kind of the premise behind the “Rome: Total War” game. And it is a good ‘um (both premise and game).
There is the flaw in your plan, the Romans never developed effective cavalry
Well, yes those cavalry troops should have been auxilia forces hired for their specialized skill set.
Moe:
I’m still waiting for Rome, Sweet Rome to be filmed and released.