Swords, Sandals, Intrigue in 'Tut'

Tut, the six-hour miniseries that ran this summer on guy channel SPIKE, is out now on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD. How this one ends won't be a mystery to anyone who's seen either the huge Treasures of Tutankhamen that toured the USA back in the '70s (or heard the Steve Martin song it inspired) or the smaller one that made the rounds ten years ago. The producers have given themselves a challenge, created an epic tale full of battles and intrigue for a guy who died under mysterious circumstances at age 19.

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Ben Kingsley anchors the proceedings as the boy king's Grand Vizier. Pretty boy Avan Jogia plays Tut like he's a lost member of One Direction and Sibylla Deen plays his equally attractive sister Ankhe (who also happens to be his wife). Egypt's military leader General Horemheb is played by Nonso Anozie, who almost killed James Bond in that hotel bathroom at the beginning of Skyfall.

Here's the deal: the show has all the military battles and hand-to-hand combat that appeal to fans of the sword-and-sandal movies but they're spread out over six hours and come at long intervals between some not-totally-effective palace intrigue. The political maneuvering in Tut will bore anyone who's into House of Cards or Wolf Hall.

The costume drama production values are also pretty limited. Let's say they're an upgrade from something like The Scorpion King 4 but not even remotely close to what you're used to from Game of Thrones.