Not the classic it wishes it was.

Rating: 6/10 (2 March 2007)

With Oscar weekend just passed I decided to dig out a film that had won loads of Oscars, and nominated for even more. I went for Gladiator, a flick I hadn't seen for at least five years, which five years ago I remember thinking wasn't anything special.
And apart from the action sequences, that view still holds. Sure, the coliseum scenes are something special - possibly some of the great action scenes ever shot, but they are let down by a mess of a film, full of bad dialogue, gaping plot holes and bad acting.
Russell 'I can only do one expression' Crowe, is perhaps one of the films biggest let downs, he can't decided whether he is a emotionless bad ass, not giving a damn whether he dies or not, or whether he is an emotionally fragile man. I've never been a big fan of Crowe, but especially in the role of Maximus, I feel it is one of the film's hindrances.
The dialogue is camp and cartoony, with one of the first lines "Why can't people just admit when they've been conquered?!" appearing completely inappropriate for a savage battle scene. Throughout the film the dialogue is one of the recurring problems, which makes itself apparent when it appears self-aware or over-sincere ("You must live or I shall die").
Also, we're meant to believe that Maximus can escape the Roman army and travel undetected from Germania back to Spain, but wait he can't escape from a shoddy little slave ring. Its plot holes like this that mean that Gladiator can't be the classic it badly wants to be.
However, it does have quite a few redeeming factors, such as the fact that it is really well directed by Ridley Scott (his choice of panning camera shots and brilliant intimate feel to the battle scenes have to be seen to be believed). And Joaquin Phoenix is spot on as Commodus, never choosing to portray him as a straight bad guy, but the most multi-dimensional character in the film.
Oh yeah, and the soundtrack is great too!