A bit of a dog with some highlights

Rating: 4/10 (14 March 2005)

Hard to understand how this uneven flick won the Oscars it did. Russell Crowe has moments, but they are all of a single mood. The sets are tacky (think how gorgeous they are in Fall of the Roman Empire with Loren and Plummer), the cinematography is strangely muddy, and the story leaded.
The exception is Joaquim Phoenix's compelling reading of Commodus. The first time Crowe and fellow slave gladiators fight in the arena, Phoenix eclipses the scene with his convincing depiction of blood lust. One could watch the film again just for those few moments of insight into a genuine character.