It's no Ben Hur, but not bad.

Rating: 7/10 (14 May 2000)

The beginning of this movie really had me worried. I'm used to gladiator type films being lavish, with warm earth tones, lots of red cloaks and reddish dirt and dust kicked up by horses' hooves. This is really dark and blue, and the MTV style editing and grainy film stock make the battle sequences obscure and confusing. I'm also used to Charleston Heston or Kirk Douglas bellowing to his comrades, leading them to heroic acts of vengeance. Russell Crowe is much more subdued, I'm not saying that's bad, he does a remarkable job and is the best part of the film. Once I got used to the stark contrasts and the story gathered momentum I began to enjoy the film much more. It was also the first time The Coliseum was filmed historically accurate, complete with the overhead shades.