A MOVIE'S MOVIE

Rating: 10/10 (6 May 2000)

And that's not a comment I throw around lightly. This ain't no stinkin' summer action flick folks. On the surface, it may seem all action action action, but really, thanks to the furious pace of the cinematography, the action (and gore) isn't centered upon at all. That's not the point. If you find yourself wanting to see it all more, you're no better than the mob in the Colliseum. THAT'S THE POINT OF GLADIATOR.
Having followed Russell Crowe's career for some time, having seen him in interviews, and now, having seen him in Gladiator, I realize no one else could play Maximus because Russell Crowe IS Maximus. It's that simple. Gladiator in its early stages very much resembles his career up until this point, and in his dialogues (some of which Russell is said to have written himself) Russell is letting himself exist up on the screen under the pseudonym of "Maximus".
Ridley Scott is known for taking massive images and then telling intimate portraits. While Russell's is a piece of the intimate portrait, the massive image of Gladiator is the Roman world paralleled as our own entertainment (not just sport)-centered way of life. The world Scott shows is dark, Rome a shadow of what it once was. His use of light is reserved for places where the ideal and metaphorical are able to peek through the canopy of the real: home, Elysium, forelighting, etc.. And indeed, light is rare, just as in the world Scott creates. But mind you, watch the characters for this as well: Lucilla and Lucius, what's the Latin root of these names? ;)
In all, this is my ideal movie, going beyond what I could have ever expected coming in, knowing Russell Crowe, Ridley Scott, Hans Zimmer, and DreamWorks were all attached. The subtle commentary Gladiator offers on the experience of viewing the movie itself is on the same level as that of L.A. Confidential. That is the qualification that makes a well-executed movie go from a 10 to an 11 in my books.
Light and Dark. Life and Death. Strength and Honor.