Oscar for Best Picture? Come on!

Rating: Null/10 (10 March 2005)

Poignant and evocative as this movie is, no way should it have been best picture. The story is too thin, the script lacks sufficient sophistication. Marcus Aurelius to Maximus'give Rome back to the people it belongs'. Way too vague and general a statement the like of which is repeated too often.
Mind you this is a good film, powered by Crowe and the fabulous music of Lisa Gerrard and Hans Zimmer. Gerrard's voice in the dream sequences is fantastic. Crowe has great presence. His Maximus is tired of fighting even before the fighting begins at the beginning of the film. The look on his face at the beginning says it all - a man duty bound to his orders, yet tired and sad at the nature of his duty, yet confident in his own ability and that of his soldiers to carry them out. Crowe retains his tortured tough guy look right the way through.
As impressive as the action sequences are at the beginning in the German forest and later in the colosseum, the film looks way too grainy. It's alright for the early sequences where the forest is supposed to be dark and gloomy anyway, but Rome should have been more light and clarity. Special effects and art direction in this sense are a let down.
The supporting cast is not given much to work with by the weak script. Derek Jacobi has almost nothing to do, Joaquin Phoenix's villain is just way too one dimensional (not really the actor's fault). Connie Nielsen easily stands out as Maximus' ex-love.
I think it's the powerful emotions aroused by the Gerrard-Zimmer music and Crowe's screen presence which propelled this to best picture status. The story and script are just too weak to merit it. Ridley Scott doesn't make bad films, but the visual weaknesses of the film in parts prevent him being praised too much for this effort. He has enough good films under his belt anyway.