A must see film - but with some flaws

Rating: Null/10 (31 October 2000)

Dont get me wrong - i totally enjoyed this film. It has action, history and love all rolled into one. In other words, passion simply oozes out of the screen at you.
However, I felt that the link between the battle scenes at the start and the gladiatorial combats was a bit weak. In fact, the battle scenes were in my eyes far more spectacular than the colluseum scenes. I wanted to find out more about the roman army - i wanted Maximus to continue his campaign. The scenes of the Roman army in combat were so utterly realistic that they took my breath away. I wanted to find out how this army conquered all of europe - hence my dissapointment when it was over after one battle scene.
So, the vista is left open for someone to tell the story of the Roman Legions - not about some trivial gorey battle in the Collesium, but about the real life and brutal facts about being in a Roman legion and going out there and conquering the world. That is a story that is still untold, and is waiting for some director to really do it justice.
On a final note - Russell Crowe was superb in this film - absolutely brilliant. A long , and Oscar awarded career awaits this guy. Watch out for him...