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Rating: 9/10 (2 July 2000)

In the Academy Awards show, the host, Billy Crystal, claimed to be able to read people's mind and thoughts, and when Russell Crowe's face was shown in the big TV screen, Billy said something like "..I could use a cigarette.", and those who got to see Crowe's face might have noticed that he had the same facial expression as in all his films, a serious face. I personally believe that is something to admire, being so serious all the time. We don't see Russell smiling or laughing a lot, but that doesn't affect his acting skills at all.
Crowe did an excellent job as Maximus in this movie, Gladiator. The rest of the cast was very good, including Joaquin Phoenix, who surprised me with his great performance.
The plot is pretty good, I wouldn't say it's VERY entertaining, it has some very few dialogues that could be considered boring, but overall, it's a great script.
The recreation of the ancient Rome is just excellent. The architecture of the buildings and The Coliseum is just fantastic. People in charge of that deserve a lot of credit and recognition.
The movie could be considered long (over 150 minutes), and some people might find a few scenes boring, but generally the movie keeps the viewers paying attention all the time. The fight scenes were very good, people who aren't big action fans might enjoy watching this film (though it's not completely action, a little drama too).
Crowe's character in here is very interesting. It's the kind of person that expresses the kind of feelings that make you think he doesn't fear anything, he always knows what to do next and he thinks the right way. While watching the film you get to like the character.
The ending is tragic but at the same time happy. The "bad guy" dies and the "good guy" wins, but something that maybe people weren't expecting, the good guy dies too. Maximus takes revenge, killing the Caesar, and then he dies, but if you think carefully, you'll notice that he actually wanted to die, to be together with his wife and son again, in the life after death.
This was a good movie. It's not the kind of movie that really "gets into you" and causes strange feelings and such (not many movies do that), but it's a good film and certainly worth watching. I'll rate it with a 9 out of 10.