Ridleys Second Wind

Rating: 9/10 (26 December 2019)

I've been on something of a Ridley Scott retrospective lately, so I thought I would get around to reviewing this, one of my favorites.
Here we have Ridley finally embracing the advantages of digital cinematography.
But what's astonishing is that his use of this wasn't as "in your face" as something like Jurassic Park or Titanic. It is almost all strictly background stuff, handled casually. I dare you to be able to find the digital backgrounds. Although only one shot is obvious (Commodus on the balcony towards the end), most of the visual effects parade by unnoticed. Nothing essential to the core projection: backgrounds, street scenes, facades. Yet all of that is essential to the movie.
This film is quite the visual experience. Consider how effortlessly Ridley evoked the world of the romans without any "Ben-Hur" references. We're immersed in a world that is altogether new and unfamiliar, but we are given absolutely no information/exposition at all. No backstory, no information: just an actor who knows how to drive tension into the next scene.
I rate this as one of the great films.