Amazing!

Rating: 10/10 (8 May 2000)

`What you do in lifeÂ…it goes an eternity'; Roman General Maximus (Russell Crowe) says to his legions of men, to rile them up, before they battle a horde of barbarians.	The opening sequence in Ridley Scott's new Roman epic has beautiful captivating shot of the destruction from overhead with the flaming arrows flying through the air, great sound, and Crowe to give inspirational speeches to set the whole mood for the next two and a half hours.	The $103 million film follows Maximus after he is betrayed by Commodus, portrayed brilliant by Joaquin Phoenix, son of the late emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) who wanted Maximus to take over his empire and restore power to the senate. Well, Commodus would hear none of this so he ridded of Maximus and took care of his evidence of living. After Commodus takes over Maximus begins his quest for vengeance. Oh yeah, the audience is excited because Russell Crowe is Maximus in yet another impressive performance, following 1997's `L. A. Confidential' and his Oscar nominated performance in 1999's `The Insider'.	`Gladiator' has all the right components for an amazing epic with some new directorial twists by Scott. The acting is flawless in all aspects, the soundtrack is captivating, the writing is precise, the cinematography is stunning, and the action sequences are uncanny.	We've got blood, gore, action, writing, direction, cinematography, special effects, big name actors, a gigantic budget, and historical inaccuracy. We've got the 21-century's spin on a dead genre of film, the Roman epic.	All in all, one of the most exciting and satisfying films in recent years and the best one to kick off 2000's summer blockbuster season.
10/10