A reasonable film, but a bit long and too "in your face"

Rating: 6/10 (4 May 2000)

An interesting film which acts as an insight as to what it must have been like in Roman times, giving a much clearer view than films such as Spartacus and Ben Hur.
However, it did feel somewhat like a series of (violent) set pieces, linked together temporary respites. These set pieces were very "in your face" and left me feeling a bit stunned from the combined audio / visual effect - it made me think that the film might almost be better watched on the small screen.
Russell Crowe was good as the hero, but I thought the best actor was Oliver Reed, who played a slave owner.
Overall, the film is worth a look, but I can't rave about it as I have seen others do.