Maximus waste of effort

Rating: 3/10 (16 March 2001)

Those who applaud this movie do so for it's excitement and action. Those who denounce this film focus on the derivative plot, lack of character development, campy special effects, and sub-par acting. I choose to be with the latter group.
This film is worth seeing, in the theater alone, but please don't expect a masterpiece. Gladiator's massive decor is entertaining viewed on a large screen, but that's where the film's success ends. The plot took quite a few ideas from BraveHeart, Spartacus, and other epic period pieces of the past, but in this case, had nothing new to add. I would like to stay away from the comparison's to BraveHeart, but the similarities between this film and the former Oscar winner is too common. Another highlight of the film is Phoenix's character, Commodus. If you don't already know, the commode's namesake was this Caesar, so you can basically conjure up the outcome of this evil emporer.
I highly recommenend this movie if you enjoy 'neat' fighting scenes and 'cool' special effects. But I am still baffled from the fact that this picture is receiving so much attention from the Acadamy Awards. This film, like Titanic, will not stand the test of time.