Barbaren

These days it’s quite a bold move to make a series about an immigrant who uses the education of the civilized world for the purpose of destroying it. This is certainly one of the best series to come out of Germany, definitely a few cuts above Der Bergdoktor and Inspector Rex: A Cop’s Best Friend. The Barbarians are an ugly bunch with great makeup, while the Romans show off their Latin. The effect is convincing. Rupp gives an excellent performance as the traitorous Roman. And Goursaud steals the second-best scene of all (when she is sacrificed to Wotan!), while the best one is the excellently filmed ambush in Teutoburg Forest, with burning Romans (Obelix would be thrilled) and heads impaled on spears for good measure. The negatives include the huge leaps in time, especially in the last two episodes and the open ending, which intentionally does not tie up the storylines. Apart from that, a good job. Danke. (15.11.2020)

Netflix serves up a historical romp set in the Teutoburg Forest, where Germanic tribes attack three Roman Legions. As expected it's excellent and actually better than the last two seasons of Vikings. I'm not a historian so I'll leave the judging of historical facts to other people, but I enjoyed the series and the fact that it's only six episodes long it rushes forward very quickly, with scenes that would take twenty minutes elsewhere take three minutes here, and I liked that. There are likeable characters, Arminius in particular is a well written character that you get to like from the start. I must praise the great costumes, the armour and make-up effects, the solid visuals, the great pacing, the engaging and suspenseful story, the sharp twists and turns in each episode, and especially the final spectacular battle, which meets the highest standards. Story****, Action****, Humor>No, Violence***, Entertainment*****, Music***, Visuals****, Atmosphere****, Suspense****. 8/10. (25.10.2020)

I have mixed feelings about this series. What I consider positive is that all the episodes were quite watchable, I wasn’t bored and had a fairly good time. On the other hand, what bothered me was too much attention to hygiene - you wouldn’t come across a single greasy hair. Plus, the events in the Germanic village seemed sloppily narrated. I thought the creators would focus all their efforts on the battle itself, which ended up being the biggest disappointment. A several-day long massacre was squeezed into a few minutes, in which barely one maniple fought instead of three legions in full force. I don't know if the Germans were limited by time or money. I'm guessing both. All in all, I think the series is worth watching, but don’t expect too much of it. (03.01.2021)

I must disagree with most of the reviewers here. It’s clear that the series has a higher budget visible in every single shot, whether it’s the costumes, set design, or makeup. Personally, I expected a lot more brutality; the trailers built up anticipation for almost nonstop action between the Romans and the Barbarians, ending only with the final credits. I didn’t get that, but even the various intrigues and scheming turned out to be engaging in their own way. One thing that really pleased me was the dubbing. Romans speaking Latin, Germans speaking German... that's something you don’t often see in modern productions, so thumbs up for that. The series focuses mainly on the development of Arminius's character, and viewers will thoroughly enjoy his transformation by the end. The final episode is a visual feast, culminating in the most famous battle in the Teutoburg Forest. There are a few things that could be improved, such as adding more adrenaline-pumping sequences or fine-tuning some minor script issues. If there is a second season and the creators avoid these cosmetic flaws, I’m looking forward to it. For me, the first season is a 7/10. (01.11.2020)