Brilliantly Acted, Very Entertaining

Rating: 10/10 (27 July 2002)

Russell Crowe earned his Oscar for his portrayal of Maximus, and it had nothing to do with the fact that he didn't win for The Insider. His performance in Gladiator is absolutely flawless. I can't imagine anybody else playing Maximus. This was my first time seeing Russell, and now he is my favorite actor.
If I had to describe Russell's performance in one word, it would be `subtle.' Less is more. Joel Siegel, the film critic on `Good Morning America,' said `Russell Crowe is not an action star, but he is such a great actor he makes you believe he is an action star.' Joel is missing the point. The LAST thing this movie needs is an action star! The role of Maximus required an actor who could convey all the facets of Maximus' personality and emotions. He also needed to look good in a tunic and perform convincingly in the action scenes. Russell combines all the necessary qualities and looks gorgeous. I can't praise his performance enough. Russell always holds your attention and makes himself clear, but always in a very subtle way. He is never flashy or exaggerated. He conveys Maximus' dignity, intelligence, courage, intensity, warmth, sense of humor, and all his other qualities. He is also totally believable in the action scenes.
All the performances in this movie are excellent. Joaquin Phoenix should have won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Commodus. Connie Nielsen (Lucilla) has real chemistry with Russell.

The soundtrack by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard is magnificent and should have won the Oscar.
I also have a couple of minor complaints about the movie.
The cinematography in the beginning of the movie is awful. I know they wanted us to understand that Germania is cold, but it was not necessary to photograph those scenes in such a way that everything is tinted blue. It just looks wrong. The actors have blue faces and the costumes look dull and washed out. The scene in which Maximus walks out of Marcus Aurelius' (Richard Harris) tent and meets Lucilla is the most egregious.
The writing leaves something to be desired. When Commodus discovers that Maximus is alive, he says `They lied to me...They told me he was dead.' But there was nobody left alive! Who lied to Commodus?
Seeing Gladiator made me want to learn something about the real Roman Empire, and I have been doing some reading. Gladiator is a brilliantly acted, very entertaining movie, and I highly recommend it.