More "Phantom Menance" than "Braveheart"

Rating: 3/10 (17 May 2000)

"Gladiator" is a movie with a lot going for it. A big budget, a big director, an up and coming star, a summer release date, etc, etc. But in my opinion, it falls just short. Despite what you may have heard, this movie is predictable, slow, and corny. The fight scenes themselves are stellar, even fantastic, but they are few and far between. The majority of this movie deals with a whiny Joaquin Phoenix and his incestuous lusts and obvious motives. Russell Crowe does well with what he's given, but most of the best scenes involving him involve so much CG background and action that it ends up taking away from the acting, as was evident in another so called summer blockbuster "The Phantom Menace." The violence is overboard and gratuitous and the movie moves like molasses. Overall, I say thumbs down. Give me real action over CG action any day of the week.