STANDING OVATION! - (10 stars out of 10)

Rating: 10/10 (6 March 2019)

The stage curtains open ...
"The General who became a Slave. The Slave who became a Gladiator. The Gladiator who defied an Emperor." - And so begins one of the best onscreen epics to ever be filmed, featuring Russell Crowe as Maximus - the Gladiator.
When a dying king chooses his General, Maximus, as the next ruler of Rome over his own son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the king is betrayed and killed by Commodus in a fit of self-pity and rage. Commodus then arranges to have both Maximus and his family killed so that he can usurp the throne. However, Maximus survives and is taken into custody as a slave and then turned into a Gladiator known only as the Spaniard. As fate would have it, his group of Gladiators find their way into Rome where Commodus has opened the Colosseum for 150 days of games - leading to the much anticipated and climatic final confrontation between the Emperor and the Gladiator who defied him.
This is such a good movie. The cinematography was excellent, that coupled with the amazing soundtrack really pull you in. The story is very well crafted and acted with great skill. It is tragic, yet exhilarating - taking us to a good payoff at the end. This is a perfect film, in my opinion, with very little room (if any) for improvement. This is what movie magic is all about. A very high recommend.