A historical epic of such proportions unseen since Spielberg's 'Amistad'

Rating: Null/10 (13 May 2000)

Gladiator is an extremely well done, though flawed, epic that is very deserving of it's box office success. Ridley Scott's best film since Alien is a terrific blend of action, drama, and worldwide appeal that is sure to make Russell Crowe a star.
Much of the film is wonderfully entertaining, one of the best films yet this year, but somehow I don't think it lived up to the praise it's getting from critics and audiences alike. Nearly every scene in 'Gladiator' is overly stylized, with Scott going way too far overboard with the camera effects, fast cuts, camera movement, and over baked atmospheres. Still, in the era of technology this is becoming more and more common, especially in films made by Dreamworks. Because of this the film is strangely devoid of any sort of emotion, even with the deaths being one of the main aspects of the story.
The other problem I had with 'Gladiator' was the opening scene, which had Maximus (Crowe) and his army fighting a group that opposed the Roman rule. The scene (though it set a good pace for the rest to follow) had absolutely nothing to do with the central story, and was never explained or even referred to later on.
Still, it commands first rate performances from Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix (Return to Paradise), and Scott handles it quite well. The music by Hans Zimmer is also outstanding, though it ends up sounding a lot like his score for the recent 'The Thin Red Line'. The movie should not be missed, and the giant budget allows it to rise above the mediocrity that plagued several recent epics attempting to emulate 'Titanic'. Dreamworks deserves a hit, and they're getting one here.
7.5/10