Wonderful Stuff

Rating: 10/10 (27 June 2000)

What we do now .. echoes through history...
A true masterpiece from director Ridley Scott, Gladiator has everything a epic movie could wish for. From the battlefields of Germania to the Gladiatorial contests of the coliseum.
It stars Russell Crowe as Maximus, a brave Roman General who is betrayed by the evil Emperor Commodus. Left for dead he is rescued by a Gladiator trainer( played by the late Oliver Reed) who trains our hero as a Gladiator. He eventually fights his way to the Coliseum in Rome when he confronts his enemies and his destiny
Everything about this movie echoes pure class. The battles, the sets, the direction. The cast is superb especially Russell Crowe, Oliver Reed and our own Richard Harris as the dying emperor Marcus Aurelius.
What the author really loved about this film was it's authenticity. Ridley Scott shows the filmgoer what Rome must have looked like at her height, decadent but wonderful. This film is a must for anyone who enjoys real entertainment, after all isn't that why cinema was invented.