What was it like to be a gladiator?

Rating: 6/10 (13 November 2014)

Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" (2000) takes place in 180 AD and begins with a decisive Roman victory led by General Maximus (Russell Crowe) over the Germanic tribes in what is now Austria. The Emperor (Richard Harris) is dying and wants to turn over control of the empire to the noble Maximus rather than his pathetic son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). After Commodus catches wind of this, Maximus and his family are condemned, but the general survives and winds up a slave to Proximo (Oliver Reed), who trains gladiators. Connie Nielsen is on hand as Commodus' sister who sympathizes with Maximus.
I saw "Gladiator" in the theater when it came out. It was over-hyped at the time and, as a result, I was let down, which isn't to say it's bad—not at all—it's just not as great as the hoopla made it out to be. Maybe I was a little disappointed because it's hard to watch "Gladiator" without comparing it to 1960's "Spartacus," the first hour of which represents some of the greatest filmmaking ever, and "Gladiator" is underwhelming by comparison (with the first hour anyway).
Yet "Gladiator" has a lot of strengths, including the serious tone, the score, locations, the recreation of the Colosseum in Rome and the cast. Speaking of the cast, Crowe is probably the film's greatest strength as he makes a worthy protagonist; and Reed is no slouch as he's his typical magnetic self. Believe it or not, Reed died during filming and his remaining scenes had to have his face superimposed over an anonymous actor (!). Maximus' fellow gladiators and friends are also notable (Djimon Hounsou and Ralf Moeller). Furthermore, the arena action sequences are thrilling and indeed give you a glimpse of what it must've been like to be a gladiator.
Phoenix is also exceptional as the love-to-loathe villain, but this is where the film suffers. Commodus (obviously derived from 'commode,' lol) is so repugnant and dishonorable that the viewer has no interest in watching overlong dramatic sequences of him in the palace, etc. These scenes could've easily been cut in half.
While "Gladiator" has a simplistic revenge plot there's some depth to glean here and there. For instance, the Emperor (Harris) chooses Maximus to replace him not only because he loves him as a son, but also because he wants someone outside of the corruption of Roman government to return the empire to a republic. That's what we need in the USA, someone not tainted by Washington politics. Then there's Commodus' sister, Lucilla (Nielsen), who initially comes off ignoble, but then you start to understand her plight and sorta hope she's redeemable.
As far as historical accuracy goes (***SPOILERS***), Marcus Aurelius allowed his unworthy son, Commodus, to become Emperor, knowing his incompetence BUT it is believed Aurelius wanted Claudius Pompeianus to succeed him as Caesar in preference to Commodus but was turned down, just as Maximus turned him down in the film. The fictional character of Maximus was partially based on Pompeianus, who had a similar career to Maximus' and personality traits as well, as documented by Herodian. In fact, Pompeianus married Marcus Aurelius' daughter, Lucilla, following the death of Lucius Verus. Maximus was also an amalgam of historical people like Narcissus (which was the protagonist's name in the first draft and Commodus' real-life killer), Spartacus (who, of course, led a significant slave revolt), Cincinnatus (a farmer who saved Rome from invasion, then resigned his six-month ruler-ship after 15 days), and Marcus Nonius Macrinus (a faithful general and friend of Marcus Aurelius). As for Commodus' entering the arena at the end and taking on a mighty (albeit wounded) gladiator and dying, Commodus was known to engage in show combat in the Colosseum, but he was actually strangled by the wrestler Narcissus in his bath, not killed in the arena, and he ruled for a dozen plus years, unlike the relatively short time shown in the movie.
Say what you will about these (common) cinematic deviations, but the movie does inspire you to look-up the historical facts.
The film runs 155 minutes (the extended cut 171 minutes) and was shot in England (the opening battle scenes), Malta, Morocco, Tuscany and Lone Pine, CA.
GRADE: B-