Ben Hur, Barrabas, Spartacus, even Braveheart .

Rating: 6/10 (7 September 2003)

..............come to mind when watching this epic-style Roman Empire story. And I do not grumble about the story, nor even of its telling. Ridley Scott is obviously a highly professional director; the screenplay is worthy of the film, and the photography is frequently wonderful. Some of the sets are superb.
My grudge, I suppose, is that with so much Hollywood razzamatazz, I was falsely led into expecting something different from Russell Crowe. His performance is good, or even better. But so good as to win an Oscar? So be it: Hollywood criteria once again goes astray. Well, anyway, it is all good for the box-office.
Do not get me wrong: the film relates its story well, such that at over 150 minutes by no means did it seem too long. Battle scenes and Gladiators in the Coliseum were well filmed. Richard Harris's interpretation stands out head and shoulders above everybody else. What really makes me gripe is the music: it practically ruined the whole film. It seems that Zimmer `borrowed' (if not plagiarized) anything he could get his hands on, with pieces which sounded like replicas inspired by people ranging from Gustav Holst and Andrew Lloyd-Webber, via Vangelis and even a touch of Richard Wagner. I suppose a grandiose-intentioned epic film required music of the same proportions, but Zimmer was not inspired and has never much inspired me in his other films, especially for TV series.
A little below seven out of ten for this one, despite the several good points.