Superior acting, story-line and cinematography

Rating: 10/10 (20 November 2002)

I like to try to "switch" roles in movies; then when the actors/actresses just don't measure up the same way the final cast does, then we can see just how hard casting directors must work to fulfill this delicate cog of the silver-screen wheel.
Russell Crowe as Maximus was a role just for that actor. Also the Emperor Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix, that part was well cast. But the two fine actors just cannot be reversed with the roles, can they? Of course not.
The medium of movies requires tons of man-hours, equipment, then post-production, etc., all of this just to tell a story, entertain people for a very short time. Gladiator was that movie that utilized all available facilities and human potential to closely portray this tale of the Roman Empire circa 180 A.D. This movie really did not stray too far from reality as a lot of movies do, just for the entertainment value. We do know that the Coliseum existed, have historical accounts that closely resemble the living conditions and daily life of the people of 180 A.D.
Gladiator has a moral center in which the main characters never waved from even when it could be expected to do so under such conditions.
Maximus drove everything he had to accomplish what he did, against the insurmountable odds, and that makes a great story.