Great Movie! http://my.ilstu.edu/~mmsmerz/smerta/

Rating: 10/10 (21 May 2010)

Gladiator is one of the greatest films that have ever been created. Russell Crowe and Juaquin Phoenix emit pure hate for one another. The emotions are so real and strong but are never over done.
Maximus Decimus Meridias is a character that I will never forget. He is an honorable man, but put him in the right situation and he becomes a confident bad ass. When he is in the coliseum and is confronted by Caesar, I always get goose bumps. That scene drips with dramatic irony. Caesar has no idea that it is Maximus standing before him. One of my favorite quotes is uttered in this scene. And every time I see it I am totally convinced that Maximus "will get his vengeance, in this life or the next." Juaquin Phoenix as Caesar was a great villain. He was a whiny, conniving, childish, and above all evil man. When he tells Maximus about the murders of his family I was so disgusted with him. I hated him. That is how you know how good the villain is – by how much you hate them. http://my.ilstu.edu/~mmsmerz/smerta/