A great action movie, though not a great movie

Rating: 7/10 (10 May 2000)

Well oil me up and call me a Roman, Gladiator was a most enjoyable action movie. The plot was actually non-trivial, Russell Crowe had a wonderful screen presence, and the violent action scenes we well shot and were genuinely exciting.
However, don't mistake this movie for Great Cinema. It isn't. This is a Hollywood-spawned crowd-pleaser, a "Roller coaster of a movie" that will "have you on the edge of your seat." While the plot was non-trivial as I said, it had few surprises and is not particularly interesting, though it did its job of wrapping the action scenes extremely well. The characters also do their jobs; unfortunately, without much flair. I would rate the thinness of the characters as this movie's worst flaw; the bad guy is wholly bad (they even make him a sexual deviant to drive the point home). The good guy is wholly good - plenty of reinforcing the "loves his family" angle to show what a wholesome fellow he is. The other slaves are eloquent, good-natured, stoic, and dignified. If you were sold into slavery, beaten, starved and then told to be hacked into little pieces for the amusement of others, would you be so likeable? Me neither. The wise emperor, the faithful servant, and anyone else you care to name, are cardboard cutouts.

So, don't miss this one at the cinema. A most pleasing way to while away a couple of hours. I just wouldn't expect to see anyone quoting it in a year's time.