Gladiator
SHADOWS
MUST-SEE
MUST-SEE
The filmmakers play around with ancient Roman history, but who cares. General Maximus (Crowe) is like a son to Caesar Marcus Aurelius (Harris)--he's smart, heroic, kind, courageous, manly, fair and compassionate. Caesar would like to pass the empire on to his intelligent, gorgeous daughter Lucilla (Nielsen), but hey, this is the first century. So he figures out a way shift his rule to Maximus instead of his vain, twisted son Commodus (Phoenix). Well, Commodus doesn't take the news very well, kills his father, assumes the throne and orders Maximus executed. But Maximus escapes, is sold into slavery and eventually returned to Rome to show off his considerable battle skills in the Coliseum. And to get his revenge on Commodus, sort out an unfinished romance with Lucilla and, naturally, to save Rome from tyranny.
Wow. This is one of those films that just takes you for a ride with its stunning production design, Scott's remarkably visual direction and good performances that add depth and meaning to the fairly simple plot, which is also beefed up with subtext about family, justice, faith and the afterlife. Crowe was a great choice for the lead, with his impressive physicality combined with a more introspective acting style that makes Maximus far more interesting than most action heroes. And among the terrific veterans in the cast, Reed (who died during filming) adds a very nice texture to his role as Maximus' slave trader. Yet while this is all tremendously entertaining, it lacks the depth and emotional punch of either Spartacus or Ben Hur. That won't keep Gladiator from making a fortune at the box office ... but it'll keep it from being considered a classic.
[15--grisly violence, themes] 19.Apr.00
US release 5.May.00; UK release 12.May.00
"Recently, we saw U-571 and Gladiator at the theaters. Both were excellent! It's been a long time since we have seen two really good movies back-to-back, so that was a major treat." --Becca V, Colorado.
"You could call this a big screen, Hollywood epic for the 21st Century (in fact, I think that's the type of thing the film's publicity people have probably already said.) It had the grandeur and drama of those 1950s 'I am Spartacus'-type movies, but it was much more modern and artistic, with a more authentic feel. It was pretty grisly, but then life in Ancient Rome was grisly. But the characterisation was good, and the acting was excellent - especially, I thought, Caesar (Phoenix) ... it's easy to ham up all that in-bred madness, but Caesar was portrayed as mad, bad and dangerous to know with a sinister intensity which I thought worked very well. I didn't really expect to enjoy this - but I did. It wasn't all blood, guts, action and overblown machismo. It also had sensitivity and realistic emotion. Not to mention some striking locations. And an ending that didn't descend too deep into melodrama - but just far enough." --Jo C, West Sussex.
"Was very disappointed. The acting was acceptable, especially Phoenix as the perturbed Ceasar. But I felt that the visual effects crew was given way too much latitude in creating their locations, so that I felt alienated from the story ... more like watching a bunch of sci-fi posters instead of real locations. Also, the action sequences were disappointing, more the product of editing and camera effects than real fight sequences. I suppose that the hype about the computer generated crowd scenes had already turned me off to the whole thing, but still I think they could have worked harder at creating real fight sequences instead of doing it all in post production. Just because you can do it in post doesn't mean you should!" --John G, Quito.
