Epic film...excessive slow dialogue

Rating: Null/10 (23 June 2000)

I first want to say that I loved this film and really surprised myself as historical dramas are not my sort of thing. The action was the best since the Matrix and the battle scenes managed to surpass Braveheart. The acting is also top-notch with great performances from Crowe and Phoenix...I really did feel hate for the Phoenix's character, strange when watching a large screen.
I found myself really drawn into the plot of the first half as Maximus showed his strengths and triumphed against adversity. My main criticism came when the dialogue mainly between Ceaser and his sister was so drawn out and lengthy. It created a slight atmosphere but I found the speed of speech unnecessarily slow to the extent of losing what was being said. I like a film to keep moving and the majority of the film did just this, however, there are some very slow parts.
Overall, this is a film to get on DVD but whether I will watch it over and over without fast forwarding to the amazing action is another thing. The first viewing is epic...but like Titanic I think multiple viewings are just not meant to occur within the same month.
SEE IT FOR: great sword work, fights, incredible sets and scenery, acting and the seemless blending of computer graphics with reality.