Gladiator

Rating: 9/10 (8 January 2012)

If you haven't seen Gladiator you've probably still heard of it. It is set in The Roman era and stars Russell Crowe, Joquain Phoenix, Oliver Reed, Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, David Schofield, John Shrapnel, Ralf Moller and Richard Harris. The plot is straight forward enough, but it is the depth of the characters that I feel make it far more interesting. Russell Crowe takes the lead as General Maximus, friend and apprentice of Emporer Marcus Auerlius (Richard Harris). When Aurelias names Maximus as his successor, Aurelias's son Commodus (Joqauin Phoenix) kills his father, banishes Maximus and assumes control of the throne. Maximus is bought into a Gladiator troop owned by rich ex-gladiator Proximo (Oliver Reed, in his last acting role). Maximus uses his military skills in the arena to get him all the way back to Commodus until it is agreed he will fight the Emporer one-to-one. Maximus then gains the trust of Commudus's sister (Connie Nielsen), Nephew (Spencer Treat Clark) and First Senator (Derek Jacobi). The stage is set for an almighty show-down between a lowly gladiator and his emperor. I found the film very powerful in terms of emotion and meaning, and Ridley Scott's directing is his best since Bladerunner. The ensemble cast, headed by Russell Crowe, works great, although what I don't understand is how Russell Crowe won the Oscar he was nominated for, but Joquain Phoenix didn't. Oliver Reed and Richard Harris perhaps give the strongest performances, as the film's 2 classic actors. The film is now 12 years old, but because of it's picture quality, and fantastic CGI, it looks like it could have been released yesterday. The final note is that Hans Zimmer's score is one of the best in any film made in recent years.