An old-fashioned hero, brilliantly portrayed

Rating: 9/10 (29 June 2001)

There isn't much I can add that hasn't already been said, but what made this movie so special for me was Russell Crowe's brilliant portrayal of Maximus as a genuine hero of Shakespearean proportions. I don't mean to imply that there is any resemblance between Gladiator and one of Shakespeare's plays, or that the dialogue resembles one of them. But the creation of a truly heroic character in a pivotal role is a classical and, unfortunately, out of date device. It requires an actor who can not only convince you that his character possesses a heroic and noble nature, but who can also make you care terribly about what happens to this hero. Crowe does both. The viewer loves and admires his Maximus, and agonizes with him in his travails. In this, Crowe reminded me of Laurence Olivier at a comparable age, although I'd guess he would cringe at the comparison. As to the rest of the cast, I couldn't find a single weak link. In fact, the only thing I didn't like about the movie was the extent of the gore in the battle and gladiator scenes. I can't believe that so many prolonged grisly scenes were necessary to get the movie's point across.