Scott's fast editing is artistically valid.

Rating: 10/10 (8 May 2000)

Ridley Scott broke away from the 50's and 60's style of watching the gladiators' battles within the arena by-way-of a relatively static widescreen POV. His rapid paced editing of mostly more intimate widescreen POV shots brought something new to the Ancient World Epic genre. Some have likened this to pandering to the MTV-watching crowd, but I reject that notion. Fast editing for no apparent reason (as in ARMEGEDDON, for example) is MTV-like, and quickly results in both confusion and boredom for the viewer; but a fast-cutting style, sparingly used to immerse the audience into the center of a sudden storm of life-and-death violence, is artistically valid and effective in conveying the adrenaline surge, terror, and sense of chaos that such combatants would likely experience.