What We Do In Life Echoes In Eternity; don't you just love that?

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 2005)

Well, where to begin? I must say that I've always been an ancient history buff and I was into war-gaming when I was a teenager and into my early twenties. So, I had to do some reading about ancient warfare tactics and what have you. Now, the opening battle scene was a delight. It really gave me perspective on why the Roman army was so superior to most other armies of the time. Historically, the Romans relied on heavy artillery as a first hit and continued until the armies clashed. By then, their foes where already exhausted scared to death. This opening scene really made me see it happen.
That said, now let's talk about the movie. It was so entertaining. I was genuinely pleased throughout the whole movie. It was visually dazzling, well acted and all in all just plain lovely.
So why didn't I give it a ten? The story was just not 100% convincing however entertaining the movie was. But although I found the young Caesar's story slightly unbelievable, it did in a way reflect the lunacy that the rulers of the era where famous for.
A word about the actors: they all played their parts exceedingly well and all the parts suited them perfectly. Russel Crowe was truly great, Richard Harris was indeed Caesar and Connie Nielsen was edible (wink, wink... what can I do, I absolutely love her?!) I can't really go on about everyone in that movie, but I can say that every single one was just great.