Honourable mention

Rating: 8/10 (2 November 2000)

This movie lived up to the hype that accompanied it. The fight scenes and the opening battle scenes were breathtaking and seemed all too real . The vistas of classical Rome were impressive. On the downside I think that Joaquin Phoenix was a mediocre choice for the role of Commodus . He just didn't seem truly evil. Instead he overacted and seemed to be trying to convince the audience of his malice. Crowe's character Maximus lacked direction and conviction and so the movie as a whole lacked a central objective. Instead the individual yet fabulous scenes stole the show. To sweep the Academy Awards like Braveheart did I think that Gladiator needed to become a fuller epic by weaving in more war scenes . As one review mentioned already there is room for a movie depicting the roman legions and their wars. But in this movie the war was a backdrop and it was underutilized. Honourable mention at the awards.