Maximus Disappointus

Rating: Null/10 (25 June 2000)

After a very promising opening,I have to say I found this film pretty underwhelming. Dull, predictable dialogue, one-dimensional characters, over-rated special effects (Rome looked like something out of a Disney film) and historical inaccuracies (in the Coliseum, women were never allowed sit together with men). To his credit, I thought Joaquin Phoenix played a good part as the demented Commodus, but Russell Crowe, excellent in The Outsider, was restricted by the poor script and complete absence of character development.