**** 1/2 Excellent return to sword-and-sandal epics

Rating: 9/10 (18 May 2001)

Ridley Scott's best film in years is this astonishing epic of Roman proportions about a great general (Russell Crowe) who is demoted to gladiator slave when the kindhearted emperor (Richard Harris) dies and his selfish and callous son (Joaquin Phoenix) takes over. The plot moves smoothly over its vast size without stopping for a second, climaxing in excellent fight scenes that combine state of the art sound effects with Scott's unbeatable visual flair. Crowe gives a star making performance as the lead, and Connie Nielsen stands out in a pretty ineffective role as the princess who must watch her brother destroy everything her beloved father worked so hard for. One of the most exciting films of the year.