A Classy Pop Corn Movie

Rating: 9/10 (29 May 2000)

You've always got to review a movie based on what it set out to do. Gladiator set out to be a grand, summer movie, action set piece. And it did that. Masterfully. And most glorious of all, it didn't make you feel guilty for enjoying it. The plot was thin but it was solid. Everything that took place happened for a distinct reason that was in context with the time period and the characters. The characters themselves were written archetypically. Maximus is the unflawed hero, Commodus is the sniveling villain, Proximo is the scoundrel with a heart of gold etc, but the performances took all of them to another level and made you care. Russel Crowe in particular is a master of doing just that. Give that boy a cliché, and he will beat it into submission. And he will do it sexily, which doesn't hurt. The action scenes are big and exciting but never unbelievable or embarrassing. To grade Gladiator as an extremely serious, epic film in the same mold as say, Spartacus, is a bit unfair. It is a summer action movie, but it is a smart, well done, and exciting summer action movie that thrills its audience without playing down to them.