Great Marvellous

Rating: 10/10 (28 June 2007)

This film is a very ingenious screenplay of a man's loyalty, suffering, courage and emotions. Gladiator is a 2000 historical action/drama film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. Crowe portrays the loyal General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed when the Emperor's ambitious son Commodus (Phoenix) murders his father and seizes the throne. Reduced to slavery, Maximus rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge the murder of his family and his Emperor. While Gladiator was criticized by historians for its historical inaccuracies, its epic scope and intense battle scenes won praise. The film's success may have helped to revive the historical epic genre, with subsequent films such as Troy, Alexander, and Kingdom of Heaven, the last of which was also directed by Scott.