GLADIATOR
dir: Ridley Scott
"The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor." - Commodus
Brief Synopsis
A military general's life is ruined by a corrupt Prince so the general, Maximus, becomes a gladiator hoping to settle the score.
Why It's Here
The excitement of the gladiator blood-sport is revived in Ridley Scott's retelling of this barbaric lifestyle. However, toned down, it's not hard to see the comparisons to today's lifestyles and considering the success of the movie, people still have the desire for violent entertainment.
"Gladiator" is by no means a good movie, it is merely an entertaining one. A fantastically entertaining movie at that. The script never even bothers with historical accuracy, rather using key figures, events, and places to create a fictitious storyline that is both compelling yet cliched and somewhat uninspired. Like the Romans, the real reason for coming out to this movie is for the sport itself, within the arena Russell Crowe's Maximus is king and fights ferocious beasts and other soldiers like himself. Maximus does have a compelling backstory involving his loyalty to a kingdom that betrayed him and a family that was stolen from him. Yet, the plotting is predictable and the understanding of honor, afterlife and the role of a warrior seems extremely conventional, something that only Hollywood could do. However, these shortcomings are neutralized by Joaquin Pheonix's role as Commodus that really elevates the film from mediocrity on the level of "Troy" to a compelling force. His cold, heartless performance boosts the emotional impact of Maximus's actions and motivations.
Where the script lacks, Ridley Scott's use of CGI excels. The release of "Gladiator" was perfect timing, in a post-"Matrix" world where CGI had become all the rage, Scott implemented a vast amount of realistic CGI effects subtley to create vast amounts of characters and the Coliseum beautifully. Only eight years later, CGI recreations of historical sights have already become boring, yet upon it's release, "Gladiator" showed the world Rome as it has never seen since, well, 180 A.D. Ridley Scott, who has always been excellent at merging reality with special effects, a tactic that most directors struggle with, continues his fantastic trend here where the CGI is evident, yet does not take center stage and blends into it's environments giving the film a beautiful feel.
While extremely entertaining, Gladiator isn't a quality film besides it's high production values. However, it is so entertaining, that it even managed to fool the Academy into giving it five Oscars, including Best Picture. Damn, now that's entertainment!
"Gladiator" is by no means a good movie, it is merely an entertaining one. A fantastically entertaining movie at that. The script never even bothers with historical accuracy, rather using key figures, events, and places to create a fictitious storyline that is both compelling yet cliched and somewhat uninspired. Like the Romans, the real reason for coming out to this movie is for the sport itself, within the arena Russell Crowe's Maximus is king and fights ferocious beasts and other soldiers like himself. Maximus does have a compelling backstory involving his loyalty to a kingdom that betrayed him and a family that was stolen from him. Yet, the plotting is predictable and the understanding of honor, afterlife and the role of a warrior seems extremely conventional, something that only Hollywood could do. However, these shortcomings are neutralized by Joaquin Pheonix's role as Commodus that really elevates the film from mediocrity on the level of "Troy" to a compelling force. His cold, heartless performance boosts the emotional impact of Maximus's actions and motivations.
Where the script lacks, Ridley Scott's use of CGI excels. The release of "Gladiator" was perfect timing, in a post-"Matrix" world where CGI had become all the rage, Scott implemented a vast amount of realistic CGI effects subtley to create vast amounts of characters and the Coliseum beautifully. Only eight years later, CGI recreations of historical sights have already become boring, yet upon it's release, "Gladiator" showed the world Rome as it has never seen since, well, 180 A.D. Ridley Scott, who has always been excellent at merging reality with special effects, a tactic that most directors struggle with, continues his fantastic trend here where the CGI is evident, yet does not take center stage and blends into it's environments giving the film a beautiful feel.
While extremely entertaining, Gladiator isn't a quality film besides it's high production values. However, it is so entertaining, that it even managed to fool the Academy into giving it five Oscars, including Best Picture. Damn, now that's entertainment!