Hi my name is (what?), my name is (who?), chika chika Maximus!-Gladiator (2000) Review

Gladiator Review

Director: Ridley Scott

Genre: Action

Codestar30 Rating: 8.5/10

After winning many wars, Maximus (Russell Crow), the most powerful and respected general of the roman armies, is told in private by the aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), that it is his wish that Maximus be the next Emperor. However when Marcus breaks this news to his son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), Commodus kills him before the Emperor can make his wishes official. Commodus orders the death of Maximus, who manages to kill the executioners and escape, but not without being wounded. He flees to his home, his farm in spain, but arrives to find his Wife and Son crucified. Wounded, and without the will to live, Maximus collapses. He awakes some time later to find he has been captured by a slaver, and is consequently sold to be a gladiator, and is forced to fight to survive on a regular basis to amuse the crowds. 

In my opinion the story in this film is great, and I've never really seen anything else like it. The most powerful warrior of the Roman army is reduced to the lowest form of warrior in the land. Granted, it is another movie where the protagonist is fueled solely by revenge , but the plot around it is a very unique take, with Maximus doing more than just get his revenge, although I shan't tell you anymore along that line as it will spoil it for you. 

The scenery is remarkable. I don't know whether it was done with CGI or if they actually recreated it, but during the scenes in the colosseum, it looks like your actually there in Roman times. The baying of the mob, the crash of shields, the scrape on sword on sword, the scream as some guy is gutted, it looks and feels so incredibly real that you'll find yourself lost in the world of the gladiators, and think your actually looking into the past.

The performances are excellent. Russell Crow plays his role superbly, and very movingly. Joaquin Phoenix portrays the insane Caesar very well, and makes a great antagonist. I did feel that Connie Nielsen's part of Lucilla, Commodus's sister, was acted slightly woodenly but it wasn't too bad. Oliver Reed plays Proximo, Maximus's mentor as a gladiator, very convincingly.

The battles and gladiator matches are great. There's an abundance of sword fights, volleys of arrows, chopping and hacking, stabbing and slicing, and blood and guts. Maximus turns the tables on his opponents, who expect to be fighting a mere slave with a sword who's been training for a few days, not a war hardened general of the Roman army. The camera work during the fight sequences really means you can see everything thats going on in the fight, and lets you keep up. Whereas with some movie during a melee based fight sequence the camera an gle changes so rapidly you get dizzy. 

This is a brilliant movie. I would strongly recommend you watch it. Its moving, entertaining and action packed. Gladiator gets the thumb-up from Caesar, and from me!