Not a classic, but still a winner

Rating: Null/10 (15 June 2000)

This movie was not without faults (the one that first comes to mind is the thumb-out, thumb-in error), but none of them are worth recommending for anyone to see who can stomach a lot of violence. The plot is far from original, a betrayed warrior's wife and children are murdered by the new Roman emperor and he goes through hell and highwater to meet him in the obligatory fight scene climax.
The characters in this movie are good enough, but they are always so sad. I think Russell Crowe only smiles once, but then again, his life is in shambles. Joaquin Phoenix (who should be praised just for taking a role whose character's name is Commodus) suffers from some sort of twisted form of the Oedipus Complex. All of the supporting cast do a good job of filling their roles even though they're basically invisible. Just throw-in characters to feed the plot between Commodus and Maximus. And I'm not sure everyone's accents are consistent with how they actually spoke back then, considering the era.
What the picture lacks most, though, is special effects. A movie like this should strive to serve up eye-candy, but instead it looks like second-rate computer graphics. I was expecting a glorious view of ancient Rome, but instead the colisseum looks drab, almost like someone snapped a photo of a video game using high speed film. Even the scenes that show flashbacks and past emotions look... easy, for lack of a better word.
But I must praise this film for its engrossing qualities. Any movie over 2.5 hours in length is subject to get boring, or at least experience a lull somewhere during the middle. But not Gladiator. The character development is sufficient and it makes us care about the characters and what happens to them. The battle scenes are passable, and the director wisely uses choppy editing techniques to disguise the sword fighting abilities of Russell Crowe and others. Usually that's not a good sign, but the point here is to see and feel the intensity and vengeance that Maximus fights with, and it works.
So based on what I wrote in the last paragraph I'm recommending this film. It is by no means transcends its genre and probably will not be considered a classic, but it does well as a stand-alone movie, and it is entertaining.
*** (out of 4)