Spectacle

Rating: Null/10 (20 July 2000)

Gladiator is a thrilling spectacle. It's also a "sword and sandal" Roman epic; the revival of a genre that expired from excess in the early 1960s. Fictional general Maximus (Russell Crowe) is serving under emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris). After witnessing another of Maximus' impressive victories (the opening battle-scenes are among the best in the movie), the ailing Aurelius appoints Maximus successor, confident he can restore Rome to a republic. Aurelius underestimates his ambitious son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) and self-serving daughter Lucilla (Connie Nielson). Commodus is soon emperor, Maximus a slave fighting for his life as a gladiator.
Russell Crowe can make virtually any character convincing and he heads a fine cast. But their efforts are frequently hampered by the simple screenplay (credited to David H Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson). But let's face it, you don't see a film like Gladiator for its script. Director Ridley Scott has put all the money into the computer-enhanced vistas and the action sequences - the impressive battle at the beginning, the gladiatorial fights. These are exhilarating and, thanks to Scott's blurring and whirring camerawork (cinematographer John Mathieson does a fine job), they don't seem as gratuitously violent as Braveheart. Nevertheless, I still feel uncomfortable praising a film which only really comes alive during brutal scenes of human slaughter.