I love movies set in ancient times. I love the grand splendor of Cleopatra and the epic expanse of Spartacus, so therefore I loved Gladiator. One thing must be mentioned though: this movie is Russell Crowe's. I spent much of the movie waiting in anticipation for his scenes cause he is such a darn good actor. He succeeds in making you love and feel for Maximus. You believe he is a great general by the way his men look at him with such respect and trust and by the way he looks back at them reflecting their sentiments. You believe in his deep fathomless love for his family by the way he gently kisses the wooden sculptures of them. And you believe it when he says that "In this life or the next, I will have my vengeance".
Gladiator is basically a revenge story on a grand scale. It starts in Germania where the great general Maximus has just won his last war in the name of Rome and all he wants is to return home to his family back in Spain. But before he returns the ailing Caesar, Marcus Aurelius asks his trusted general, whom he loves like a son, to help him return Rome into the form of a Republic and end the years of rule by emperor. Only three people know of this plan, Maximus, Marcus Aurelius and the Caesar's son Commodus.
Commodus, the emperor's vain son is played very well and with surprising three-dimensionality by Joaquin Phoenix. Instead of playing Commodus as a spoiled evil brat, he show Commodus as a son who is deeply hurt by his father's disappointment in him.Commodus does love his father, but unfortunately its not enough. The way he kills his father is very much insync with his character: he smothers him against his breastplate while he tries to hug him after telling him he cannot be emperor. After that Commodus, makes it look like Maximus has betrayed his men and puts him to death, but he escapes and travels back home to try and save his family. Unfortunately he arrives too late. Let me tell you the man should get another Oscar nomination for the scene where he sees his slain family, it was pure sincerity and grief.
Eventually Maximus is sold into slavery and becomes a gladiator, and a darn good one to. The finesse and precision at which Maximus fights shows that the man was a killing machine before. It isn't long before he is sent to Rome to fight in the Coliseum and meets up with Commodus.
Ridley Scott must have fully enjoyed the experiences of re-creating Rome in his vision, after all the man is considered one of the great shooting directors of our time and he makes everything come alive, most importantly the city. Sometimes Scott is accused of paying to much attention on scenery and not enough on character development, but he comes off evenly here. Maximus is enough of a full flesh and blood character that when he gets his revenge the audience is there with him and cheers him. (The people in my theatre all clapped hard)And by the way, I rated it as an action movie but believe me its much more than that. Enjoy.
The general who became a slave. The slave that became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an empire. After another mighty victory on the battlefield...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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