A story of honor, strength, faith

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2000)

The element that most impressed me in this film was the underlying faith of Maximus through his many long weary years of trials. One could argue that at a certain point revenge took over as his motivation (in this case, the presentation made the viewers hope for revenge also, as a reasonable response to a Hitler-like figure). I saw revenge as the primary motivator in the Patriot, and it sickened me; in this film I see the death of a dangerous and hated leader as a goal, but not as a driving force. The driving force for Maximus, it seems to me, is to be faithful to a much larger calling. As he puts it at one point, "What we do in life echoes into eternity." It is clear that he strongly believes that he will, in the afterlife, walk with joy with his wife and family by his side, if he stays true, maintains integrity, strength, honor, and principle. In this sense I found the film to be much more uplifting than The Patriot, though in many elements the films were quite similar. Both achieved a scope of grandeur that was unbelievable, both had strong central characters who fight against all odds. But I found one film uplifting, the other depressing, and I think it had to do with the underlying motivations of the characters. Gladiator made me want to emulate Maximus; The Patriot made me hope to never become like Benjamin Martin.
Both, though, admirably showed the grit of war without romanticizing it in the least. That seems to be a trend (like Private Ryan) that I greatly appreciate.