Disappointed by overrated Gladiator

Rating: 5/10 (22 May 2000)

Way overrated - despite great acting (Phoenix is surprising, while Crowe is expectedly excellent) & nice effects with the Roman architecture & look, the over-serious style tries to be Saving Pvt. Ryan meets Julius Caesar & fails at both. Wooden dialogue, clunky narrative, & boring pace don't help, but worst of all are the Michael Bay-like action scenes - too many edits to make sense! Ridley Scott continues to show that his only strengths are coming up with nice-looking films, but can't tell much of a story or emotional weight without an exceptional script. C+