good but could of been better

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2000)

This is a very good movie. I viewed it at home and I imagine it would be even more majestic on the big screen with a tub of popcorn in hand and my shoes sticking to the floor.
Russell Crowe is great as Maximus. Joaquin Phoenix is very believable as your typical schizo, paranoid Caesar with a flair for incest. I think he drank too much of the Roman water or maybe it was just a case of when in Rome do as the Romans. Hey, you look kinda cute, sis. Richard Harris's character as the old Caesar is a little too soft for me. I realize he is old, but hey, its good to be king. He was a little too touchy feely, but Harris salvages it and reels you in.
The look and feel of the movie is awesome and the story is superb. The story reminded me a lot of Braveheart with a few different twists. Braveheart stuck in a different world. Unlike Mel Gibson in Braveheart, Crowe does not give a quick glimpse of his gluteus maximus. I guess that is not his trademark. By the way, in my mind thats a big plus for the movie.
I scored this movie an 8. A disappointing 8. Why? Maybe because I was expecting a 9 or maybe even a 10. Why did it not deliver? I expected more true history, I guess. The gladiator's contests were too choreographed. The violence sometimes fit in the movie like hair in your chewing gum. Can't get it out, but it definitely does not belong there. Many of the fights were very good and others were like Jackie Chan and sword meets the gladiator. The one that comes to mind is when Maximus has 2 swords and stabs them into his foe. Not bad, pretty cool, very Romanesque. Then he draws them out, twirls them around and does a double sword decapitation of the poor soul. He must have worked at Beni Hana as a table chef. I was waiting for him to spit some tobacco, go into a back flip followed by a chinese split and remark, "I'll be back". machomus maximus ridiculous! I like the gladiator type fighting in Conan the Barbarian much better. I think when guys fight to the death you may see a little fear, more frantic fighting, and maybe even some biting or spitting and maybe even a little begging. You know, the way you would act if a snake crawled in your bed at night. A fast pace.
The tigers were real healthy looking and for some reason I always thought they used lions. The contestants entered the arena very elaborately sometimes and so did the feline carnivores. Maybe thats the way it was; I don't know.
Don't get me wrong this is still a very good movie. If you like a little tussle in the coliseum mixed with some emotional stuff then rent it. I may even buy it some day. I say, a big thumbs up, let the movie live.