Watchable... (and a little overrated)

Rating: 9/10 (15 September 2000)

Great actors, great set design, great effects - but unfortunately the plot is not one of those effects. It´s to PREDICTABLE. Russell Crowes performance convinced me, but as Maximus wife and his son were killed, the story turned to a much to simple story of revenge. There are movies were you don´t mind about that, but this is a Ridley Scott film. In his earlier works he has shown how to connect a brilliant story with great visual effects (e.g. Blade runner). I suppose, Scott wanted to make something like the "Ben Hur" of the 21st century, but it isn´t. After all, a laudable try to revive this genre.