Great movie by Ridley Scott. Russell Crowe is outstanding.

Rating: 9/10 (6 May 2000)

This is a movie well worth seeing. Ridley Scott has made a movie that is believable and brutal but not gory. It has fine editing. You get the impact but not lingering gruesome shots of bloody battle. It is undoubtedly the most realistic portrayal of Roman life that has ever been in the movies.
Russell Crowe is a revelation. In a sea of wonderful actors, he carries the movie. Any army would follow his Maximus into battle. I will now have to go back and look up his previous work and see what I have missed. All of the actors including Joaquin Phoenix, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris and Connie Nielsen are wonderful.
The photography is flawless and you can hardly notice the effects.
The ending is a minor flaw in the movie. It is satisfying but you can see it coming from a long way off. They spent a lot of money to make this movie and it was well spent. See it.