A Remarkable Epic, and the best in it's genre......

Rating: 10/10 (3 August 2000)

Ridley Scott's Gladiator is a success on so many levels. It's a wonderful epic, an intense action/adventure, a touching story of redemption, loss and betrayl, and an all-around rousing entertainment with glorious scenery and atmosphere. Though it's clear that digital computer effects play a part in serving the scenery, it doesn't take away from the enjoyment. In fact, it enhances it. The performances are top notch, particularly from that of Russell Crowe and Joaquin Pheonix, who is deliciously diabolical as the villian. The battle scenes are simply some of the best ever created for cinema, ranking in the same league as Braveheart. This and M:I-2 are the year's best offerings so far, and by far the best films of the summer.