Mindless and Predictable.

Rating: 1/10 (9 February 2001)

Gladiator is filled with so many tired old cliches that I can only sum it up with a tired old reviewer cliché. Leave you brain at the door.
This movie starts off with a large battle scene where Roman army Sargent, Russell Crowe, displays a unique ability to fight with courage and honor. Yeah! Unfortunately for him he is more concern with getting home to his family where he can raise his children and grow his crops. The only thing that is keeping him in the army is a strong devotion to his Caesar.
After winning the opening scene (Believe me, I am not spoiling anything imdb.) Crowe's Caesar comes down from the mountain where he has overlooked the battle to congratulate him. As soon as I saw the old and feeble Caesar get off his horse I literally counted the seconds before the Caesar's `jealous of Crowe' younger brother or son came walking onto the scene. 28 seconds later the Caesar's son who it conveniently late for the battle, enters the scene. Things really heat up when the Caesar names Crowe as his successor instead of his son. What follows is one movie cliché after another until a final battle scene between Crowe and Caesar Jr.
I have enjoyed movies that followed this kind of formula in the past. Spartacus and Braveheart are my two favorite examples. But what those movies have that Gladiator lacks is simple. Character. Ridley Scott's direction should have been more focus on giving his lead roles a third dimension instead of dragging out action. The bland story and flatness of the characters made me wish that everyone would die so I could arrive home sooner.
Although Gladiator did have well choreographed fight scenes and some good computer generated special effects; as most movies today, they left the script as a last priority which this reviewer still believes should be the whole point of movie making.