A perfect hero defined through a perfect story.

Rating: Null/10 (3 August 2001)

It is almost as sad to read the bad reviews here of "Gladiator" as it was to view the ending of the movie. I watched the movie as a human being in search of a wonderful story and visual experience, not as a wannabe critic as many reviewers here seem to have done. I could find no fault with this movie: it had me choking back tears (in concealment from my girlfriend, of course) during many scenes; the battles where great; many actors/supporting actors gave awesome performances; the music inspired me to search music stores for Lisa Gerrard (what a beautiful voice, she melodically DEFINES the sadness in many tough scenes); etc--for sure! For those of you who write that this movie does not deserve the praise/honors it has received, I could only guess that this is because you're all unaccustomed or uncomfortable with seeing a movie about a hero doing well. Or, some other bias holds you back. In any case, many more people with professional experience in the movie industry voted contrary to your tastes/opinions by placing this spectacular movie among the archives of the greats through their granting of awards. This may sound corny, but, there are some things in life that I'm thankful for having done or experienced or seen before I die: seeing "Gladiator" was one of them. It was otherworldly; I got to escape from some of the dumber beasts of modern-day society for 3 hours and idolize a hero.