Gladiator (2000) Review

Gladiator is directed by Ridley Scott, stars Russell Crowe and won five Oscars. Of course I’m going to review this film.

Gladiator stars Russell Crowe as Maximus, a leader of the Roman army and all he wants to do is go back to his family, but instead he has to fight in arenas as a gladiators, hence the title Gladiator. That’s not all that goes in the film.

Now, Russell Crowe as Maximus was a perfect cast because Maximus is a strong leader, a man with respect with his people, which made Russell Crowe at that point a perfect choice because Russell Crowe at that point of his career released The Insider and from that he gained respect from the fans, and the industry was taking notice so he fitted that role effortlessly. He got the personality right for Maximus, the way he strode around, it was humble but yet I knew he was the top dog. He had presented himself as man who could actually take down armies and lead an army himself. Russell Crowe was fantastic in the film but a man who topped him in my opinion was Joaquin Phoenix, who played Commodus, a jealous and paranoid son of the Roman leader. Joaquin Phoenix performance made every scene more interesting than it should have been, he was another character that embodied his character to the point that I forgot it was Joaquin Phoenix playing a character. Commodus for me was more interesting than Maximus (Russell Crowe) because Commodus was paranoid and the way he acted makes you feel uncomfortable when he was on screen, he became unpredictable at some points which made him a character that you could not take your eyes away.

Obviously the fighting scenes were fantastic to watch, it was choreographed so well that I didn't feel like it was fake, I felt every punch and every stab. The scale of the fights was great to watch because they take place in the Coliseum (Colosseum) and when watching I got the atmosphere because you got the feel how small they were in this big stadium. It was great to watch.

I did have some problems, there was a romance going on (sort of) with Commodus sister played by Connie Nielson that I felt was forced because they needed her to help Maximus. Also the last third was underwhelming, I was expecting an epic battle between two armies but I sadly did not receive that. Also I thought the first 30 minutes dragged, but the film did pick up the pace once Maximus became a gladiator.

The film Gladiator is a great film to watch especially when watching the fight scenes, the last act was underwhelming and the first 30 minutes did drag but for a good two hour I was entertained and Gladiator does deserve an 8/10