Crowe is outstanding in this bloody Roman epic

Rating: Null/10 (19 April 2000)

At the centre of the pic is a solid performance by Russell Crowe, which should finally cement his reputation as one of Hollywood's brightest new stars. He's as tough and mean as he was in LA Confidential with a likeable heroic edge.
Director Ridley Scott manages a near return to form. The action scenes are visually impressive, but somewhat messy, but I suppose he'd say he was capturing the chaos of battle.
There are numerous panoramic Roman vistas but they're obviously, for the most part, CGI (and are strangely always accompanied by poorly executed flocks of CGI birds). Also, to my eye, it was clear which of Oliver Reed's scenes were re-edited with doubles and/or digital composites.
These are minor grumbles though -- for the most part Gladiator is a mean, bloody, sprawling epic. The supporting cast are all great: Connie Nielsen is as alluring as ever, Joaquim Phoenix is a fine baddie (despite being slightly miscast; occasionally struggling with a british accent) and Richard Harris is great in a small role.
On the whole the script is strong but, as is often the case with blockbusters, it's unfortunately drowned out by sound effects and, in this case, by a heavy-handed score.
My main grumble is the film begins with a Saving Private Ryan style battle sequence, contains numerous large scale action sequences in the interim, but the finale is just a plain-old run-of-the-mill two man swordfight. Yes, it's very exciting but it felt like it needed a grander end fight.