Padded out to make it feel more 'epic'

Rating: 7/10 (21 March 2005)

Gladiator is a long film. Epic films are supposed to be long. But somehow Gladiator doesn't feel like an epic film. Sure, it deals with the rise and fall of a Roman Emperor, has spectacular battle scenes, a nearly spectacular CGI Colosseum, and everyone speaks in the clipped 'BBC English' accent that we all know they used in Roman times, but somehow the story doesn't carry enough weight.
We feel bad for Maximus when he's betrayed, and we hate the villain and want him to get his comeuppance. But we don't give a toss about the Roman people, who are portrayed as a bloodthirsty mob, so why should we want them to be freed from their tyrannical emperor? It works better as a personal revenge tale than as a chapter in the history of the Roman Empire.
The script is weighed down with pretentious and meaningless pronouncements ("Rome is an idea"?) and the plot is too full of coincidences. The action sequences are well executed (if you'll excuse the pun) and none of the actors embarrass themselves, but overall this is an above average film that has ideas above its station.