Fine acting and special effects fest

Rating: 8/10 (31 March 2001)

It's nice to see a movie with this much graphic violence win Best Picture. Maybe there's hope for Halloween 27 after all. All kidding aside, it was a disturbingly accurate picture of the Roman Empire during that period in history. The blood lust of the mob can certainly be compared to modern-day sporting events. Professional wrestling comes to mind, among other things. While not a perfect picture, neither was anything else this year. Even though "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Traffic" were probably better movies, "Gladiator" has more feel-good crowd appeal. I do believe that Russell Crowe deserved his Best Actor Oscar, and his supporting cast did a superb job as well. Plush sets, great costumes, and incredible computer graphics.