A hero will rise above the media hype and mediocre script.

Rating: 5/10 (22 May 2000)

Maybe I would have enjoyed this film more if not for the media circus that surrounded it. This movie had a lot going for it, an excellent lead actor in Russell Crowe, great costumes, and beautiful scenery. What disappointed me about it was the use of familiar plot lines that are in almost every other film of this genre. A murdered family, so the hero is driven by revenge. A crazed leader in Mr. Phoenix as Commodus. Gee, I've never seen the son murder the father before to get control of the throne. And the downfall of this really long picture was the lack of action. Hey, I think the fight scenes were great, all four of them. The rest was machismo talk. Besides, if you know your history, you walk in already knowing that Rome never becomes a republic again, and the senator Gracchus meets a horrible untimely death. I would like to thank Mr. Scott for assuming we're all ignorant popcorn eaters.