The first epic of the 21st century is without a doubt Ridley Scott's finest cinematic achievement.

Rating: 10/10 (12 November 2012)

As a die hard movie fan, I believe movie reviews are all about personal opinion, so I'll start off by saying my personal opinion is Ridley Scott's Gladiator is the greatest film I've ever seen. I'm sure there are a lot of sci-fi nerds out there who will argue that Alien or Blade Runner is Scott's best work, but those films lack the heart that Gladiator has. From the films intense opening to the awesome Battle of Carthage, this movie captivated me like no film I have ever seen before. Of course, the performances in Gladiator are one of the main reasons why this movie is so great. Russell Crowe is excellent as Maximus, the Roman General turned slave earned him a well deserved Best Actor Oscar. A special shout out goes to Joaquin Phoenix. Few actors have the ability to truly make u loathe them in a movie, but Phoenix's portrayal as the young Emperor Commodus is so conniving and evil it's pure genius, although this wasn't Phoenix's first movie, to me this role was his breakout performance and I thought he was snubbed at the Oscars that year. This film has it all, brilliant acting, great cinematography, and intense battle scenes. My hats off to Ridley Scott for creating this cinematic masterpiece.
"What we do in life, echoes in eternity" -Maximus