If you're reading this having not seen The Arena yet, it should be painfully obvious what you're in for: a low-budget Gladiator knock-off filmed in Russia and starring a couple of Playboy girls, meaning you're in for a lot of graphic scenes of good old-fashioned Roman debauchery.
Sure enough, no surprises to be found... although it wasn't the unapologetic T&A festival that I expected (not the whole way through, at least). As actresses, Karen McDougal and Lisa Dergan make great centrefolds and the rest of the cast list looks like the starting lineup for the Detroit Red Wings, only with better English-speaking skills. The storyline is decadent at best and it features possibly one of the most audacious endings I've seen in recent years that was worthy of fifteen minutes of laughter all on its own.
The Arena turns out to be a toga party and a mud wrestling competition rolled into one... it's cheap entertainment, and I liked it. Enjoy it for what it is, try not to think too hard, and you won't be disappointed.
Sure enough, no surprises to be found... although it wasn't the unapologetic T&A festival that I expected (not the whole way through, at least). As actresses, Karen McDougal and Lisa Dergan make great centrefolds and the rest of the cast list looks like the starting lineup for the Detroit Red Wings, only with better English-speaking skills. The storyline is decadent at best and it features possibly one of the most audacious endings I've seen in recent years that was worthy of fifteen minutes of laughter all on its own.
The Arena turns out to be a toga party and a mud wrestling competition rolled into one... it's cheap entertainment, and I liked it. Enjoy it for what it is, try not to think too hard, and you won't be disappointed.