Review of Gladiator (2000) by William T — 30 Oct 2013

It took a long time but I finally saw Gladiator. Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix star in a story I have seen plenty of times in movies. The story is simple. Guy in high power gets betrayed by a jealous brother and falls to the bottom and has to climb back up to gain his vengeance. How many times have I seen this? A lot. How many times does it work really well? A lot. In Gladiator it works really well. Everything from the acting to action worked in this movie.

Like I said the plot is basic but it works. I have seen this movie before just with a different setting and characters. Russell Crowe is a general for the Roman Empire, Maximus, and his father who adopted him is dying wants him to take over the empire. Commodus, Phoenix, is the rightful heir to the throne because he is blood related but he takes his brother out of the picture anyway by betraying him and murdering his family. Maximus survives and becomes a Gladiator to get his revenge. I figured out the ending to this movie and most of the key plot points but it was still amazing.

Russell Crowe gives an amazing performance in this movie, winning him an Oscar. Crowe has an amazing talent for acting and this was his best performance. Luckily he didn't sing. His best scene is when he finds his family dead. He has an emotional breakdown. Another when Commodus is tempting Maximus to fight and he keeps his composure. Any normal man would have broken down but he kept his cool. Maximus is a very interesting character and a natural leader.

I don't know why Joaquin Phoenix's career went down the tubes but he comes through in the clutch in this movie. Commodus is one of the creepiest villains in any movie. He stalks his nephew and wants to sleep with his sister. His jealousy and anger towards Maximus drives his performance. When he is on screen its intense. His emotion escalates rather quickly. Phoenix got nominated for an Oscar and I think he deserved it.

The fighting scenes in this movie were top of the line. My favorite being the one with the tigers. I saw the tiger come out and I went nuts. I was pumped and as unrealistic as it was, it was awesome. The Colosseum looked real and amazing. The lack of CGI shows and it makes the movie better. Watching this I pictured the making of the movie and the set. The sands of the Colosseum were probably real and the first section of seating was probably used with extras. The second two had to be CGI for budget common sense but the movie felt real.

I watched the director's cut of this movie so it was really long. Honestly I got a little bored and most of the added in scenes I could spot out. There was a lot of filler that didn't need to be in there. I took that into account when thinking back on the movie. The regular version is probably a lot better and cleaned up but the backstory was still interesting.

Character relationships are obviously very important and none was creepier than the one with Commodus and his sister. Many times in the movie he tries to kiss his sister. There comes a point where he demands she give birth to his future son. That's messed up. It shows how sick his character is. I understand power hungry but this guy was 110% crazy. Maximus is a great leader and has great relationships with his soldiers. There is the one huge guy and the other black guy he befriends and they are both incredible. Secondary characters like that are important and they do their part.

Overall, Gladiator is a masterpiece and I don't know why I waited so long to see it. Hans Zimmer adds an excellent score and captures the emotional part of the movie. Ridley Scott directs this film in the right into the academy awards and he really let his stars shine. Crowe and Phoenix give it their all and help push this movie to get the WillyT Seal of Approval.