I've seen this movie before...

Rating: 7/10 (6 August 2002)

It seems as if the folks at DreamWorks could not decide whether they wanted to remake "Ben Hur," "Spartacus," or "The Fall of the Roman Empire," so they decided to remake all three. They took two awesome scripts and one mediocre screen play, stuck them in a blender, and the resulting concoction has become the better-than-average "Gladiator." It borrows most heavily from the mediocre "Fall of the Roman Empire" in terms of characters and basic plot, but quite a bit of influence from "Ben Hur" and "Spartacus" can easily be noted.
This is the story of Mad Maximus (Russell Crowe), an Australian who moves to Spain, looks good in a toga and so becomes general of the Roman army. Unfortunately, he refuses to kiss the behind of emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), because he's a bit upset that Commodus killed his own father and Max's best friend Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris). One bad thing leads to another, and old Mad Max finds himself mixed up with an international cast of characters fighting as gladiators in the Peoria of North Africa. Soon the day of their big break comes, and it's out of Peoria and on to the Hollywood and Broadway of the ancient world: Rome; to play games of life in death before tremendous crowds at the biggest theater in the world: the Coliseum.
Many find the gladiatorial contests of ancient Rome to be rather savage and brutal; but you have to give the Romans a break, in that Hollywood, video games and ice hockey had not yet been invented. What else is there to do for entertainment other than watch a bunch of strangers poke and stab each other with sharp objects? Sure, Playstation II has better blood & gore graphics, but several centuries of technological advancement will do that for you. In the old days, the blood and gore of the arena was all that was available.
But an interesting twist develops in the plot: Commodus' sister Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) finally realizes after thirty years that her brother is a sick, unrepentant pervert and lunatic. Some are slow learners. So she decides that the ol' gladiator/general Mad Max might be just the guy to help her submarine her bro, and restore peace, justice and the American Way to Rome.
Anyone who has seen "Ben Hur," "Spartacus" and "The Fall of the Roman Empire" has already seen this movie. There's no surprises or suspense, just lots more scenes of people being decapitated and/or disemboweled. It's amazing what special effects artists and CGI have been able to do to help bring brutality into a far more realistic light than in the past --chalk up another great moment for Hollywood.
In the hands of most directors, a film like this would be the scorn and bird droppings of most film critics. But DreamWorks had an ace up their sleeve: they got Ridley Scott to direct this train wreck of a script, and then work his incredible magic to make the ugly duckling transform into a beautiful swan. Well Ridley is good, but he's not God, so what we end up with is a swan who's kinda cute, but not quite up to the cover of Sport Illustrated's swimsuit issue. Still, this is far more than most could have done with such muck.
Ridley Scott is one of the few directors who the word "genius" sticks to like glue. You've seen what this guy can do, and do better than most anyone else. For the movie "Gladiator", Scot goes all out. He gets the BEST actors, the best set and costume designers, and the best composer, then puts it all together and creates a tremendous feast for the eyes & ears. There are many great performances all throughout this picture, and the camera work and art direction are absolutely top notch.
If there is a complaint, it is with the fight sequences. They are the typical fast cut/shakey camera mish mash that's been going on for ages. One minute a group of guys are facing one another, the next minute a whole bunch of them are dead. How did it happen? Who knows, who cares. Instead of carefully staged shots and fluid camera work, we get the cinema equivalent of projectile vomit. Oh well, at least I can always put on "Crouching Tiger" or "Phantom Menace" if I want to see sword play done properly, or the Tyrone Power version of "Zorro" (1940). But I will admit that the battle scene between the Germans and the Romans at the very beginning of the film was extremely well done. The fast cuts and bouncy camera did an excellent job conveying the excitement and confusion that is prevalent in large scale combat.
The actors and the performances they give are far too good for a film of such tripe. Of particular note is the performance of Lucilla by Connie Nielsen. The film is worth the price of admission (or the price of the DVD) just to see this woman's face light up the screen and give the over used theme of blood vengeance such dignity, poise and grace. Lucilla is by far the most interesting character of the film, for she is the only one who goes through a process of transformation by means reflection and examination, rather than by forced external entanglements. The characters of Commodus and Maximus could have been easily played by cardboard cut-outs with the words "Bad Guy" and "Good Guy" stenciled on each. What you see of Commodus and Maximus in the first ten seconds of film is what you see in their final scenes, there is no change or awakening in these two guys. But Lucilla rewards us with an interesting sort of redemption that makes a rather predictable film worth watching. As Ridley Scott himself said of Ms. Nielsen: "She can rule my empire anytime."
My generous rating: 7/10