A Colossal Performance by Crowe makes this an Epic Thrill-Packer!

Rating: 9/10 (27 March 2015)

You will swoon with woozy delight over Ridley Scott's thrilling, burnished epic 'Gladiator' - a sweaty, stylish hunk-fest that takes you back to the Roman era. It is so insanely enjoyable and carried off with such dash and chutzpah, that it makes you wonder where this genre has been all your life.
Worried about the judgment of history as he ends his days with Rome in a swirl of political instability, the Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) charges his favorite general, Maximus (Russell Crowe), over his petulant son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) to whip Rome back into shape and return power to the people. Maximus wants no part of the offer and yearns to return to his family. But before this wish can become reality, Commodus intervenes, triggering a series of events that changes the future of the Roman Empire. An attack on Maximus and his family relegates the once-great hero to a shattered, anonymous slave. Purchased by a crafty spectacle promoter, he's trained as a gladiator. The man who once fought for his nation and its ideals now fights to provide thrills to a bloodthirsty mob, constantly enduring Commodus' envy and the ignominy of being a slave. But it is as a slave- gladiator that Maximus finds the way to serve Rome once again, and help deliver on his promise to the late Emperor.
Gladiator is film-making at its finest (Ridley Scott in top form), painted on the grandest of canvases, and yet, one which maintains the finest eye for detail. Right from its opening frames of hand-to- hand butchery, Gladiator simply grabs you by the balls and never lets go. On the surface, it's a terrific yarn with rounded characters, agonizing suspense and visceral thrills. Look closer and you'll find rich historical themes, and a harrowing critique of violence as amusement. The depiction of the random savagery amid which the issue has to be confronted is astonishing lending the action sequences an elegiac quality. The atmospherics are so robust that you can almost smell the sweat pouring from the Colosseum as Maximus battles both man and beast for the amusement of the masses. The mob's cheers make a chilling counterpoint to our close-up views of carnage.
True, Gladiator is full of arresting splendor and technical virtuosity. But the camera only has eyes for Maximus as Crowe puts a stranglehold on stardom with his performance. The man exudes a physicality comparable to the beasts he has to combat in the arena and holds the screen with such conviction and force you simply can't rip your eyes away from him.
Gladiator does indeed deliver the glory that was Rome: a sprawling, enthralling orgy of blood, passion, betrayal and revenge. A gloriously entertaining thrill-packer of truly epic proportions!