Watchable but rather nonsensical

Rating: 6/10 (3 April 2010)

I have to admit I'm somewhat puzzled by the highly-marked reviews and Oscars dished out to this movie. I watched this on Blue-Ray for the first time yesterday, and my partner really enjoyed it - she'd give it two marks higher. Me, I found it occasionally good, overlong, treacle-paced, with a lot of one dimensional characters and stock situations. And a horrible, stupid ending.
Gladiator follows the exploits of General Maximus (Russell Crowe), successful military commander, being betrayed by Commodus (Joaquin Pheonix), who usurps his Roman Emperor father Marcus Arelius (Richard Harris). Finding his family brutally murdered, Maximus is captured by slavers who sell him to a Gladiator school run by former Gladiator Proximo (Oliver Reed) And from here Maximus sees a chance to avenge the murder of his family.
In truth the movie is rather far-fetched but with some stirring combat sequences. The opening battle in Germania is not particularly well-staged (Cavalry charge through a forest?) I have to admit I found the chief merit in the film to be the performances of some of the actors. Richard Harris and Oliver Reed are excellent, as is Joaquin Pheonix, who unfortunately appears to be acting in a different movie from everyone else. He gives a sensitive portrayal of a descent into madness (never once does he go over the top) but the film is really crying out for a black-hat villain, and is weakened overall by the character of Commodus. You feel the senate would usurp him easily, and the Roman political scenes are hopelessly inadequate in capturing the spirit of Rome.
Russell Crowe is extremely dull and wooden in the part of Maximus, and I can only assume that Oscars are awarded largely on the strength of studio campaigns. Crowe himself has given much better performances. The music is also a very clichéd variation on Mars The Bringer Of War.
So, if you don't expect too much you might like it. To me it's far from a great movie. Ridley Scott has made many better films.