Epic Movie

Rating: Null/10 (22 June 2014)

Gladiator is defiantly in my top 10 favorite of all time. It's the only I've ever paid twice to go see in theaters. Russell Crowe won an Oscar for his role as Maximus general of the northern Armies. Looking at the movie we see Russell Crowe portray the life of a Roman General who conquered and fought in Britania. There was no other greater honor than to win victories for your emperor who you served. The story goes from a General who had one of the most powerful armies on earth, to a slave turned gladiator who fights in a ring worth no more than the beasts in cages next to him. The betrayal of Maximus by Commodus leads us into a journey filled with danger, revenge, and love, the love of Maximus's family. Through a turn of events Maximus learns the trade of being a gladiator and wins the hearts of the crowd. Through vicious play and versatility in the ring he eventually goes to Rome where he plots his move on killing the emperor Commodus. The movie is filled with action, death, The theme of the movie is revenge and power. Straight out of the gate there is a huge power struggle between the Romans and barbarians of Britania. Power that at that point was slowly slipping away from the indigenous tribes. Commodus learned from his father that Maximus would become the new leader of Rome and give back the power to the Senate. After Maximus was betrayed and his family murdered he was found and sold by slavers to a man who was once a gladiator himself. Finding fame in the arena he eventually found himself to Rome. He plotted his revenge against Commodus and eventually faced him in the ring one on one. The final scene shows Maximus kill the Emperor with cut scenes of him going into the afterlife to meet his wife and son. This eventually leads to his death. To me sounds contributed the most to the theme of the movie. Most of the revenge scenes were in the arena where the clanging of swords and slicing of flesh showed well. During the first scenes with the barbarians chanting and sounds of war added a different element to the movie. This movie was a smash hit. It won 5 Oscars and was nominated for 7 more. With a budget being around 100 million to film and produce the movie would gross around 450 million worldwide. This would be Russell Crowes only Oscar win in a very illustrious career as a movie star.