Ridley Scott knows how to keep the audience interested.

Rating: 9/10 (18 August 2004)

I've always liked Ridley Scott. I like Alien and Blade Runner, and all of his other films (except for perhaps Black Hawk Down). And I'd have to say this is one of his better films. Simply because every aspect of the film comes together and creates a beautiful, interesting and thoughtful story of a roman general. Plus we get some awesome battle scenes.
Maximus is a General in the Roman Army, in the year 180 A.D. He is leading the Roman armies to fight against the barbarian tribes of Germania. After all of Germania is conquered, Maximus looks forward to finally being able to go back home and seeing his wife and son again. But the Emperor has other duties for him. But before Maximus is able to perform those duties, the Emperor is killed and Maximus sentenced to death, by the Emperors own son: Commodus.
Maximus manages to escape the clutches of Commodus but finds that Commodus also ordered the death of his family. Maximus is however captured and sold off as a gladiator, and finds himself in a situation where he must fight to survive. But his real goal is to get revenge on the man who killed his family: Commodus.
The film is visually stunning. The battle scenes are awesome. The acting is superb. The script is excellent. Everything about this film is top-notch, but what can you expect from Ridley Scott? He directs the film like he knows exactly what he wants and the end result is something you'll want to watch over and over again.
Russel Crowe is absolutely fabulous in the role as Maximus. He outdoes himself completely. You really care for his character, and in the end I always find that a tear rolls down my eye whenever the end credits roll across the scene. Oliver Reed (R.I.P) also gives us a great performance as the aged gladiator; Proximo. To bad he died before principal photography had ended, and had to be replaced by a CG Puppet in some scenes (altough I never noticed this while watching the film). Juaqin Phoenix also gives a stellar performance as the insidious and evil Emperor Commodus.
The battle scenes are all great. My favorite is the battle between the Roman army and the Germanian tribes, which gives us some good IL' dirty warfare shots of people getting mutilated: The dark ages way. Other great scenes are when the gladiators are forced to play the part of the Barbarian horde in the re-enactment of the battle of Carthage. Hans Zimmers music in these scenes may very well be some of the best aggressive movie scores I've ever heard.
All of this, combined with Ridley Scotts excellent visual style and superb directing, makes for a flawless film that should never be forgotten.
10/10