Best movie this summer

Rating: 9/10 (2 June 2000)

I don't know why everyone is ragging on the plot; even though it was predictable at times, it was still gripping. I think this is the best movie I've watched the whole year; the visuals are just breathtaking. I haven't seen such beautiful cinematography since What Dreams May Come. George Lucas should ask Ridley Scott for some tips because while the special effects in Gladiator were less flashy, I believed it was real. Compare the computer graphics of the cityscapes of Rome to those in (whatever that city was called) in Phantom Menace. Same technical quality, but the stuff in Gladiator was a work of art. My only disappointment was the first battle scene. . . if I had watched the whole scene without turning away, I would have puked. Am I supposed to feel a rush just because they're pulling the film faster? The opening scene in Saving Private Ryan was by far superior. That had me ducking and wincing, Gladiator's did not. The acting was a bit cliche, on Russell Crowe's and Joaquin Phoenix's part, but so were their characters. I have to say though, I've never seen a better performance by Phoenix. In the scene where he kills his father, when he was giving that little speech about not being loved, I was moved to tears. That has got to be the most emotional scene in the whole movie . . . and a job well-done by Phoenix. Does anyone remember James Dean in East of Eden? Same speech, equally powerful. I wonder if that's where Phoenix got his inspiration. Overall, great movie. Too bad some people are anti-hype, anti-mainstream, because this film is really worthy.