Best Movie of 2000

Rating: 10/10 (27 May 2000)

As I was sitting in the theater watching Gladiator for the third time, I was thinking of another movie that it reminded me of. Braveheart. Braveheart is easily one of the best movies of the nineties, and Gladiator is right up there with it. A moving story of a general who becomes a slave, a slave who becomes a gladiator, a gladiator who defied an emperor, Gladiator stuns and amazes. A magnificent spectacle of a movie, Ridley Scott has another motion picture masterpiece notch on his belt. Gorgeous sweeping shots of a flawlessly computer generated Rome make you gasp in awe, and the battle scenes are nothing short of spectacular. Russell Crowe turns in a typically impressive performance as the general-slave-gladiator Maximus, and Joaquin Phoenix is excellent as the young, impetuous, and tyrannical Emperor Commodus. The supporting cast is marvelous, with standout performances from Djimon Hounsou as Juba the slave, and Connie Nielsen as Lucilla. Galdiator is definitely THE movie to see this summer.