Outstanding!

Rating: Null/10 (7 May 2000)

Russel Crowe delivered probably the best work of his career beating out his performance as Bud White in L.A. Confidential in an epic movie worthing of being in the same category as Braveheart. GLADIATOR captures so much in its plot and the special effects used to create the Colloseum and ancient Rome in the prime of the Roman Empire and kept my attention until credits rolled.
Although the film contains a somewhat sad ending, good still triumphs over evil which only one aspect of what makes GLADIATOR a must see. The brutality of the film, although hard to watch at times, accurately captured what the society of ancient Rome was like.
GLADIATOR puts all of the science-fiction movies with special effects and huge budgets that just seem to eliminate a story line to shame with its simpleness and the power to keep the watcher deeply interested throughout the whole two and a half hours. As the movie opens with a battle scene in Germania, the watcher knows that they are in for something special as the sky just seems to be on fire with arrows and balls of fire.

Russel Crowe should definitely be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor as being "the general who became a slave, the slave who became a gladiator, and the the gladiator who defied an emperor." His quiet and modest demeanor in the movie causes him to be a great leader on the battlefield and in the Colloseum. He uses his leadership skills to help he and his fellow gladiators survive in what is almost certain death.
With an all-star cast in which every actor plays their part fantastically and a story that can't miss, GLADIATOR should be a best picture candidate. GLADIATOR shows how important loyalty is and presents the question "Is blood thicker that water." Trust me, you won't be disappointed.