An almost perfect movie

Rating: 8/10 (23 October 2013)

This is the story of a roman general, Maximus, who displeases his new emperor, Commodus, because he was too close to the old emperor, Commodus's father, and is sure that Commodus killed his father, which he did. So Commodus has Maximus's family killed and Maximus ends up becoming a gladiator, having to fight for his life in the arena.
I really liked this movie, even though I first saw it when I was a kid and there are some pretty violent or nasty scenes, like for example when Maximus finds his wife and daughter burned and hanged in front of his house. It's full of action, and you want to know how it's going to go, if he's going to survive and if he's going to stay a slave forever.
I recommend to see it, because it's beautifully played and the settings and clothes seem authentic. If I had to give the negative aspects, though, it would be that you have to have time to watch it, since it is a long movie (that is if you watch the extended version, which is obviously better and more complete). Also, if you never saw it and already saw Pirates of the Caribbean, you will be thrown off by the music. Yes, it is the same. It's not plagiarism though, both soundtracks are by Hans Zimmer. You would have the same effect while watching Lord of the Rings if you saw Braveheart, so it's not that uncommon a fact, even though in that case the movies were NOT scored by the same artist.
One last thing though, if you know a lot about roman history and want to watch 'Gladiator' to see how much of the movie sticks to real events, don't. It is a great movie if you are not easily upset with inaccurate facts. For example, Commodus did not actually killed Marcus Aurelius to take his place, they reigned together for many years before Marcus died.
So in general I really loved it, except for these 'minor' details, and I think it's one of those movies which everyone should have seen before ever saying they have a good cinematographic culture.