Empire Intrigue

Rating: 5/10 (29 January 2001)

I saw Gladiator this weekend and I have to say I'm not sure what all the hype was about. The story is only fair and the characters flat; and, at over two and a half hours, there was ample time for much better story and character development. Unlike Braveheart, and The Patriot, two other recent period epics, I was never drawn into the story, never became involved emotionally with the characters, never really cared. And, Crowe seems to play the same character in many of his movies; it's time for less grunting. It was nice to see Richard Harris, I wish he'd do more.
If you see it, see it for the scenery and the special effects; they are FANTASTIC. I remember watching Titanic and being able to pick out the people and scenery that was computer generated. Not so in Gladiator. Rome looks like it's real, nothing short of amazing.
The blood and gore, if you worry about that kind of thing, wasn't as bad as some have said; in fact, there was much less than I expected.
Worth the time if you must. But "The Fall of the Roman Empire" was better.