An excellent, albeit historically inaccurate, film.

Rating: 8/10 (26 August 2001)

A rousing story of one man surviving adversity and destroying a corrupt man in the process, Gladiator is a very entertaining 2 1/2 hour ride. The best part of the movie is the backdrop itself, for which Ridley Scott aggressively takes the moviegoer on a trip throughout all corners of the Roman Empire, and even to their concept of heaven in the process. Definitely worth the money, and I'm sorry that I didn't get to see it on the big screen.
I was disturbed, however, by the historical liberties taken with the script. For those of you who don't care about this sort of thing, please stop reading now.
OK, first of all, Marcus Aurelius died of the plague, which would have been pretty hard for Commodious to fake if he had killed his father. 2nd, Commodius lived for 12 years (180-192 A.D.) so his quick rise and fall doesn't really jibe historically either (he died in a wrestling match). Also, he was known for his physical strength, so his wimpiness in the movie really didn't make sense.
These items, taken alone, bother me a little, but then there are more disturbing factors to take into account. For one, soldiers weren't allowed BY LAW to get married, so all of Maximus' talk of "going home to see his wife" really doesn't make sense. Soldiers did keep women on nearby plots of land, but they probably wouldn't talk openly about it. Also, Rome was in a defensive posture; most of the lands they had acquired they acquired BEFORE Marcus Aurelius came to power.
I think what bothers me the most is the fact that Marcus Aurelius was no hero. He was renowned for persecuting Christians; he stepped up efforts during his regime, believing that Christianity would be the death of the empire. While he did do some very good things for the empire, he wasn't the benevolent patriarch that the movie made him out to be. He also tried to marry his nephew to his daughter so they would produce a "super emperor"; my guess is that he probably didn't want Rome to be a Republic again.
Revisionist history is troublesome. Although this did happen nearly 2 millennia ago, we still can't forget that the emperors of the day were not heroes by today's standards. I'm not one of those politically correct people who thinks that movies about despots shouldn't be made. I simply believe that historical figures should be presented honestly for what they did (and didn't do), and not sugarcoated for a mass audience.
Having said all that, I really did like the movie. I give it an 8/10, with the disclaimer that it's no Braveheart, but it is visually stunning and hard to look away from while you're watching it, but not a movie that really will affect me for months after seeing it.