A full, satisfying film

Rating: Null/10 (28 June 2000)

Gladiator had the best of thickened plots, complex relationship issues, outrageous effects and realistic settings for this attempt to depict the struggles of a "warrior with a heart" in a nearly heartless world.
I found the opening scene powerful in its ability to draw me in to the hard, brutal world of the noble warrior and the Roman emperor, as well as giving a glimpse of the vision of the "next world" held by its protagonist.
Especially enjoyable to me were the dynamics of the son who could not force his father's love and the warrior who earned that same love by being a man of integrity, vision and value. The sins of the father's distance are visited on the son, who then visits his own sinful responses on an entire empire.
A fascinating study of the best and worst of human nature without going into caricatures, Gladiator was an epic romp, with enough meat to make chewing the bones deeply satisfying.