Gladiator (2000)

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Preview

Looking to comfort myself during this election, I decided to watch my favorite movie. I’ve seen the film more times then I can count and it never gets old, so I said “Why not?”. The film follows Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) who is a Legatus of Rome. The film opens with him successfully commanding his legion against a final German resistance. His victory is celebrated by Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Aurelius offers Maximus the position of Emperor believing that his son Commodus should not be allowed to obtain the throne. He also requests that Maximus transfer power of Rome to the Senate when they are ready, but Maximus merely wants to go home to his farm in Spain. Commodus learns of this plan though and murders his father, Emperor Aurelius, in a fit of rage. Unfortunately, only Maximus knew of Aurelius’s intentions and realizing that Aurelius was murdered, refuses to submit to Commodus. Commodus, therefore, orders Maximus to be executed along with his family. Maximus survives but doesn’t get back to Spain in time to save his family and, after passing out from his wounds, is taken by a slaver. His journey begins to exact revenge on Commodus and ensure Rome follows the intentions of Emperor Aurelius.

The Good

The thing that I love most about the film is the plot. A revenge tale with a twist and a setting I can love. I’m really into understanding and learning about history, and the Romans are such an interesting civilization to learn about. The soundtrack is amazing as well. Hans Zimmer is a music god. There aren’t many composers that can match up against him. He’s as great as John Williams and Howard Shore, there is no doubt in my mind about that. And don’t get me started on the action, so much blood and gore, it’s glorious! Director Ridley Scott did a beautiful job all around including trying to bring the film as close to authenticity as possible. I’d also like to point out, Russel Crowe carries this film on his soldiers. There are not many actors that could have pulled off what he did with this film.

The Bad

It’s my favorite movie. I have absolutely nothing to complain about. I would say they could make it longer, but Ridley Scott released a version with 15 minutes of added film. So… no complaint there. If you’re not into the blood and gore, then you won’t like this film. I think it is also important to be able to connect with Maximus. Some movies are great when you can connect on some emotional or psychological level with the characters. In Gladiator, this is especially true to. I won’t lie, the ending has probably had me in tears about every time. I’m soft, what can I say?

Final Notes

This movie is great all-around. That’s my opinion at least. However, Rotten Tomatoes only gave it a 76%, so critics are not necessarily the biggest fans. There are a lot of movies though in which the audience and critics completely disagree on how good a movie is. I think the critics sometimes get a little full of themselves and don’t pay attention to what an audience is looking for. Furthermore, the thing that always amazed me about the film was the fact that when they started filming, they were still building the plot and all the dialogue. Russell Crowe pulled his “Big Star” status and helped design some of his own lines while lambasting some of the producers and writers for their work. I just found that so amusing. I hope that if you watch this film you enjoy it. However, if you watch it and don’t like it… do not come to me complaining. I promise that I will block you out and not hear any of your criticism.

2 thoughts on “Gladiator (2000)”

  1. I love Gladiator in every aspect. It is one of the few films that I was left speechless by after having watched it for the very first time. I truly believe that it was Russell Crowe’s best performance to date. Also, Joaquin Phoenix played a villainous role so well I loved to hate him.

  2. I saw this movie when I was around twelve or thirteen. My mom wanted to expand my historical knowledge, so she and I would often watch movies like “Schindler’s List”, “The Pianist”, “Pearl Harbor”, etc… At the time, I disliked watching such movies, as they were very graphic. However, I think these movies have given me a better understanding of historical events. I vaguely remembered the storyline to Gladiator, so thank you for summing that up. I mostly remember the fighting scenes, as well as one scene in particular, when some of the soldiers (I believe) were given horrid-looking soup. I do not know why I vividly remember that scene, but it stuck with me. Re-watching this movie and seeing what I think of it now would be interesting!

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