A Guy's Night Out

Rating: 7/10 (13 February 2005)

This is the guy's movie. No way around it. There's armies in combat, there's a father and son drama, there's gladiators (no duh, in a movie called Gladiator), there are women in skimpy outfits, and by the end, more violence. Not that any of this is bad. You just need to know what to expect when seeing this 2000 Oscar winner for best picture. Oscar winner Russel Crowe plays Maximus, a general in the Roman army who is next in line to be ruler of Rome, as the rightful Emperor-to-be Commodous (Joaquin Phoenix) is bypassed by Caeser Marcus Arillias (Richard Harris) in his final attempt to bring back to the old republic. After the Caesar's death, Commodous orders the execution of Maximus, which begins the epic portion of Gladiator. By the end of the movie, scores are settled, more battles are won, legacies are sealed, and every man in the audience has seen everything he could have wanted. No romance here, so the ladies will have to rely on seeing Russel Crowe running around without much clothes on. The best performance for my money is by the late Oliver Reed, who died while filming was in progress. Reed plays an emotionally unattached slave trader who trains Gladiators to fight in Rome. The movie looks good, for the most part. The computer generated Rome leaves something to be desired however, as the buildings look metallic and cold and some of the people watching the Gladiators are out of focus and not wearing togas. For shame, no togas!!! It's a great man's movie which have some small faults to it, but still good nonetheless.