"Braveheart" it isn't.

Rating: 6/10 (15 January 2001)

WARNING: The last line may contain a possible spoiler.
The massive popularity of "Gladiator" blows my mind. Yes, it is an entertaining movie, but it is hardly the type of movie (historic, epic, depressingly dark) that usually appeals to most movie-goers. In some ways, this movie reminded me more of bleak, cautionary Sci-Fi flicks like "The Running Man" ("look at the darkness the human heart is capable of" type movies) rather than the heart-breaking human dramas recent epics like "Braveheart" and "Rob Roy" have been.
But I think the weakest part of the movie is the villain, Commodus. He's too weak to carry the movie, and since the driving force of the movie is Maximus' desire to avenge what was done to him and his family, that is a fatal weakness. Commodus' only skill is making sure his enemies are incapacitated in some way (or at least outnumbered) before they can get anywhere near him. You see, he knows how pathetic he really is, so he doesn't allow himself to get into a position in which he is likely to get the living daylights beat out of him (which just about anyone in this movie could do to him).
Maybe it's just me. Maybe I wanted an evil villain instead of one that just frustrated me so much. Perhaps the thought of a ruler who doesn't deserve his power will be enough conflict for other viewers. But Commodus' weaknesses seem so obvious, I just wanted to stand up and tell everyone to open their eyes. "This is the man you let *lead* you?!" But no one in this movie, except Maximus, can see Commodus for what he really is. (Well, some could, but they wouldn't do anything about it, for some reason.) So how can I feel any satisfaction seeing such a weak man finally get his due?