Comparisons to Spartacus are unavoidable

Rating: 8/10 (10 May 2000)

When I first heard about Gladiator I immediately thought of Spartacus. Would it be a remake? Would it be anything like it? It might be interesting to compare the two for a moment.
On the surface there are many similarities between Gladiator and Spartacus: a slave-gladiator hero, an eccentric but likeable gladiator owner, Senator Gracchus scheming for power, a power-hungry sexually-muddled villain, and a female lead with mixed allegiance. I think Russell Crowe gives us a better hero than Kirk Douglas (forgive me Mum), and also gives a better performance; in fact, Russell Crowe might be the best actor of his generation and is magnificent in this film. Oliver Reed's Proximo cannot match up to Peter Ustinov's masterful portrayal of Batiatus. Derek Jacobi is strong as Gracchus and compares well to Charles Laughton. As a villain, Joaquin Phoenix is certainly no match for Laurence Olivier. And in outwardly dissimilar roles, Connie Nielsen is actually a better female lead than was Jean Simmons (I should be shot for saying that).
Both movies have strong battle scenes, but Gladiator has more of them (presumably to please today's average movie-goer) which means that screen-time for political wheeling and dealing is sacrificed - the affairs of the Senate were some of my favourite moments in Spartacus. However, the numerous Coliseum battle scenes in Gladiator gave Russell Crowe more opportunity to build as a hero - and were some of the best scenes in the movie.
The victory won in Spartacus is a personal one. Whereas in Gladiator Maximus' victory is for the people of Rome. And that is where the two films become very different. The theme of Gladiator is that Rome was inherently good and that the corruption of the Senate and the tyranny of the Emperor were the evil forces - once you defeat the tyranny and corruption, Rome becomes great once more. The theme of Spartacus is that Rome was inherently bad and regardless of who was in power, slaves would always be slaves and had to fight for their personal freedom and for justice.
Overall, I liked Gladiator very much. I'm not sure it is as good as Spartacus - only time will tell us that - but I think I liked it as much as Spartacus.