Just good.

Rating: 7/10 (19 May 2000)

Gladiator is nothing special, it's just good. At times it looks great and at other times it looks artificial and simply stupid. The character of Commodus is incredibly annoying, although I say that, he is the most interesting in that he is not your usual scheming cowardly little prick that you encounter in films like this, but is also deeply disturbed. The best scene in the film involves Commodus and his father in the build up to the murder, brilliantly acted by Harris and Phoenix. The story is dull in it's familiarity, there's nothing there really but your basic " i want to get home to my family, oh shit my family has been killed by the bad disloyal Commodus so now i must get revenge because i am good and loyal". Having said that, the battle and fighting scenes are very entertaining with plenty of fine decapitations. Considering all the trash produced in the nineties which Gladiator stands high above, it's worth going to see just for having some element depth, and not just being dumb futile crap. I'd say it would rank just about in my top 30 films of the nineties. Although with Scott's other films Bladerunner and Alien this does not compare. Gladiator is just good, nothing more.