All the elements are in place - whether they sustain 150 minutes is something else

Rating: Null/10 (5 May 2000)

The epic has been lost. There was a time and place and will guarantee you, it no longer exists. Long gone are the days of Lean, DeMille, and D.W. Griffith, so we take what we can.
Gladiator contains some of the most brilliant fight sequences in history (equivalent being Lawrence of Arabia, Patton, and yes, Mel, Braveheart). Mr. Crowe has again proven that he can fit the bill, and perfectly at that - is that not what we hope for? Ridley Scott has taken some of the most brilliant landscapes and shown more devastation in them, than the preverbial every-fifteen-second beheading, and he has carried this film into being what it had to be - a story of one man. The classic plot of revenge, on a weak man, an emporer so a formidable character by default, and a man determined to kill him. Old love, family death, extenuating cinematic license, and fast-paced killing close-ups; if you go to see this film, and you think you know what you're going to get - you're right. But hey, what else are you going to do with a hundred mil?