Review of Gladiator (2000) by Vguru R — 10 Dec 2014

Are you not entertained every time you watch GLADIATOR (2000)?! Because I am. This is one of director Ridley Scott's masterpieces and has one of the most powerful and extraordinary performances from Russell Crowe ever. This Academy Award-winning epic is a revenge story about a loyal Roman general, Maximus Decimus Meridius (Crowe), who is framed for the death of emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) by the latter's ambitious son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who desperately seeks the throne. Reduced to being a slave and forced gladiator, Maximus rises through the ranks of the arena and tries to oppose Commodus in an attempt to avenge the loss of his family and the old emperor. Once again we've come down to one of my favorite movies of ALL TIME and my favorite Ridley Scott movie-he masterfully directs this beautiful historical epic and draws out so many amazing performances. The gladiatorial battles are spectacular to watch and the "Are you not entertained?!" scene is one of the best scenes in the movie. Ridley Scott does an ASTOUNDING job of recreating Rome and the Colosseum, and in my opinion the film's CGI holds up.

This was also one of the movies that contributed to my love of film in a big way because Gladiator really pushed me forward into checking out more mature films; it was actually the first R-rated movie I had ever seen. The movie is literally perfect: the action is tense and exciting; the drama is intriguing and brilliantly acted; and as far as historical dramas go, this has to be one of the best. Actually, upon its immense success this movie made Hollywood go, "Whoa, everyone loves Gladiator! Let's make more sword-and-sandal epics!" .... Yeah, we got Troy, 300, and 300: Rise of an Empire out of that. I personally don't really care for that genre...

But back to the movie that's actually awesome. This film would not be nearly as good without Russell Crowe's fantastic performance as Maximus. In my opinion, Russell Crowe is one of the best actors of all time. Seeing as how Daniel Day-Lewis is the god of acting, if he didn't exist then that title would definitely go to Crowe. He has NEVER phoned in any performance, and in every single movie Crowe hits it out of the park-Maximus would be second favorite performance of his behind John Nash in A Beautiful Mind. As Maximus, Crowe gave a brutal performance and he perfectly embodied the character-I wholeheartedly believe he deserved that Best Actor Oscar. However, Joaquin Phoenix on the other hand did not win Best Supporting Actor and he totally got snubbed. He was the creepiest part of the movie, and when I say creepy, I mean CREEPY!!!! Show this to any young kid--around 10 or 11, the age when I first saw it--and they will most likely curl up in fear over how weird and unsettling the character is in some scenes. Obviously, I did not do such a thing. That might even happen to someone older; in the end, it is truly a haunting and unforgettable performance.

Connie Nielsen portrays Commodus' sister, Lucilla, and she's unfortunately overshadowed by everyone else. That's not to say she's bad; I think she is great in the movie. But if we take the quality of each and every performance into account, Nielsen is outweighed by the other leads. Again, she's great in the movie, but whenever I think of Gladiator, Connie Nielsen is not one of the first few people to come to mind. However, that's not the same case for Djimon Hounsou. This man is hands down one of the most underrated actors working in Hollywood, but he is so fucking awesome. I LOVE Hounsou in any role he does,and he definitely had a lot to do in Gladiator. His chemistry with Crowe was spectacular, and I especially love the very last scene of the film. If you have seen the movie then you know that the last scene of the film... That my friends is a genuine act of friendship and respect. In essence, put him in more movies Hollywood! Other than him, this film also stars Oliver Reed as Proximo-he acts as Maximus' mentor, in a way, when the latter is forced to become a Gladiator. Finally, Richard Harris plays Marcus Aurelius in the beginning of the film. I'm sure you are all familiar with Harris since, you know, he was the original Dumbledore and all.

So as I said, Ridley Scott perfectly recreates the Roman time period. And I stress the word perfectly, becomes he completely immerses you in the world. In my opinion, the special effects still hold up to this day and whenever the film is on TV (well I have the Blu-ray too) I automatically switch to it and I just watch it again and again, every single time instantly being sucked into the world that Scott had made. The battle sequences though: they are extremely violent and REMARKABLE! The opening sequence itself is both fierce and stunning to watch. Maximus asks in the film, "Are you not entertained?! Are you not entertained?!!" And my reply to him is: "Fuck yeah, I'm entertained!" Which leads me into the script-so many quotable lines from Gladiator and every scene is so well written. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is the "My name is Maximus...." Scene-if you've seen the movie then you know how magnificent it is. I know some people would say the plot is simple, but in all honesty, there's nothing wrong with that. For this movie at least. The film is still elevated to enormous heights due to all of its other aspects.

But what would this movie be without Hans Zimmer's score! Holy shit, this guy is on his way to become the next John Williams (I wouldn't say he's there just yet). Can you believe he's only won one Oscar for Best Original Score-Lion King-but did not win for Gladiator or Inception among others? It puzzles me because every freaking melody that Zimmer composes for this movie is mind-blowingly good. Actually, I completely forgot to mention that he wasn't the only one working on the Gladiator score; Lisa Gerrard was also composing with him. But still, they both did a spectacular job!

All in all, Gladiator is Ridley Scott's best movie ever! You got the best performances; great direction; the score was so elegant; every action sequence was engaging; and Rome was recreated in the grandest way possible. This movie is a MUST-SEE film and it will definitely open other doors for you if you don't know Ridley Scott's filmography or Russell Crowe's filmography, etc. that well. Forget Troy and those other sword-and-sandal movies, and EXPERIENCE Gladiator for what it is. All those other movies would never have happened if Gladiator was not so great in the first place. They might possibly cross your mind now and then, but Gladiator is different. It has stood the test of time and will be remembered and enjoyed forever - 100/10.