Entertaining, but really.....

Rating: 7/10 (26 March 2001)

After the Academy Awards, I have to temper my displeasure a bit. This was not a bad movie at all. It is quite good compared to, say, Demetrius and the Gladiators. But this has to be the most overrated movie to win Best Picture since Forrest Gump. Even more overrated than Titanic. Take one part Spartacus, one third Braveheart, and one third Caligula and blend. The female character is pure window dressing, the effects are poor but thankfully used sparingly.The period armour and weapons are all wrong. The tacked-on "going home" racial liberation bit at the end is pure hokum. In it's defense, the film does have two very fine performances (rewarded) and some terrific action sequences.
Still, I am sad that we could not have seen the award go to one of the more challenging and visionary films, Crouching Tiger or Traffic. Sometimes popcorn is just popcorn, even with heavy butter. ** 1/2 stars, seven out of ten.