Solidly executed with a good story and the mark of a classic action film.

Rating: 8/10 (16 October 2014)

This is a movie that can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. It can be appreciated for its story, lived intensely through its action scenes, emotionally experienced through the deeply established main characters, or soaked in. It is not a movie that leaves you smiling, but the action scenes can make it kind of fun if you don't care for any kind of stories. The story is very solid with good characters, but you don't need to follow the story to enjoy the fight scenes. The inverse can also be said in that the story can still be enjoyed by those who don't like the action. All three of the main elements of the movie, the execution, action, and story, are spiced up with diversity. The story has politics, emotional conflicts, character personalities, and practical issues introduced to it. This is exemplified by the political issues that arise from Commodus taking the place of his father instead of Maximus: Lucilla being torn between her husband/brother, Maximus, and her son: Maximus keeping his dignity when becoming a slave; and his simple wish to return to his family and farm. The action visits multiple regions with epic battles, guerrilla style raids, one on one combat, and of course gladiator fighting. It is intense, but the shots are fairly quick so the gore does not have an overly painful effect on the audience (think high-speed sword fights over extended torture scenes). The execution has classic feels to it, but is rather ahead of its time for the most part. The cinematography is very good when it displays the battles, Maximus' fantasies of home, and the snake-like workings of Commodus. Plus, the visual quality and lighting is sharp throughout. The delivery of speech has a dramatic tone to it, but is also realistic at most points. The film score is kind of caught in the transition period from Hans Zimmer's current style and the John Williams style that it has in Crimson Tide. As to the characters, the main roles are well played and well developed. Maximus is not what you would call a round character. His main quality is that he is able to gain people's respect in his various roles. Whether he is leading a trained army or the scum of the kingdom, he is able to get people to obey, respect, and treat him with an almost child-like love, looking up to him as a role model. Russel Crowe's acting is good enough to not be criticized, but not good enough to be remarkable (though his delivery of the "My name is Gladiator . . . and I will have my vengeance . . ." quote is very striking). Commodus makes an excellent villain because at heart he is just a whiny little kid that has to have his way. His "am I not merciful" rant is a great summary of his personality. By the time he reaches his demise, he has acted so villainously that it is an indisputable fact that he had it coming to him. Joaquin Phoenix embodies his character quite convincingly, especially in the scene where he is forced to spare Maximus' life despite his own desires. Lucilla plays a strong female character who advocates justice despite its consequences. She kind of gets caught in the middle of everything that happens without a political escape route, but manages to sort of come out on top at the end. The other supporting roles like Juba and Marcus Aurelius add to the story without adding to the confusion of who is who and why did he or she do that. I think Juba's last line of "Now we are free," is a great way to end the movie, because it kind of gives a tangible positive outcome of Maximus' death. The song by Lisa Gerrard that goes with the quote is an excellent piece of music to close out the movie. On a slight side note, I feel that the death of the main character at the end is sort of a sign that a movie is striving to become a classic. The same scenario comes up in Dead Poet's Society, and neither death is implausible or poorly portrayed, but it kind of forces you to take the movie up to that point more seriously. I'm not saying it is bad to include that element, but there are other ways to make a movie a classic and this movie will be one and would be even if Maximus' death had not been included. If you are considering whether Gladiator is worth a watch, I would say that is should satisfy as long as you're a fan of general action. There is more to the movie than the fight scenes, but there are enough of them that anyone who doesn't like action won't enjoy it. As for humorous elements, you'll get more laughs out of a blank sheet of paper (though if you've seen Nacho Libre, there are several moments where you can't resist pulling out a few quotes from the Jack Black wrestling comedy). As stated before the execution and story should satisfy most and is subject to very little criticism. So if you like action and a high-quality watch, set aside an evening or two for this movie. Overall Rating: 8.6/10