Flawless work from an incredible director.

Rating: 10/10 (6 September 2018)

I've seen Gladiator many times in it's 18 year existence. first time renting it from the video store when I was only 10 years old when it first came out on VHS and DVD. i'm 28 now and this movie is still a truly incredible experience that must not be missed. I recently added Gladiator to my 4K collection and watching it in that format was a real treat.
After an intense conflict in Germania, Roman general Maximus is summoned by Marcus Aurelius to become emperor after his passing, which infuriates his son commodus. Commodus in turn has Maximus' wife and child murdered and he is then forced into slavery. it is there Maximus ends up in the hands of Proximo, a former gladiator turned slave trader. Through the film, Maximus uses his superior fighting skills to fight his way to revenge in a final showdown with Commodus.
The script, character development and choreography of the combat scenes are spectacularly done. the film itself is beautifully shot and flawlessly edited. The roman Colosseum is a true on screen spectacle and the fight scenes are gritty, violent and very intense.
On screen performances from Crowe, Phoenix and Nielsen are all fantastic and very believable characters. even the supporting cast from Djimou Honsou (hope i spelt that correctly), and the super adorable Spencer Treat Clarke do a wonderful job at adding to the story.
Gladiator is a show stopper of a film and most definitely deserved the award for best picture, nothing else that came out in the year 2000 came even close to this.