Gladiator, proves that love prevails above all

Rating: 10/10 (10 January 2007)

Gladiator for me is Ridley Scott's finest work. It is credible to state that alien was fantastic but for me this is his greatest achievement in film. Gladiator holds a message within which is never give in, or give up when your cause is worthy, and we can see that Maximus's cause is more worthy than any. Crowe is nothing short of world class in portraying to us the character of Maximus. Yes he is a born fighter and general of Rome, yet he loves his family more than anything and only wants to live peacefully with them. It is because of this that the audience can understand Maximus's drive for redemption, regained respect and vengeance for his family. The battle scenes for me show how Maximus fights with his heart and nothing else, he slays the fighters for his family, he wins the crowd for his family and gains his vengeance. Lisa Gerrard's "Now we are free" creates an overwhelmingly emotional end to the film and had me in tears for the first time ever in a film. Gladiator is nothing short of a masterpiece and shows that despite all the endless rubbish that has come out of Hollywood over the past ten years there are still gems and films to remembered for a long time, and Gladiator is certainly one of them.