A Very Good Movie That Could Have Been Even Better

Rating: 7/10 (24 March 2002)

The beginning of "Gladiator" is powerful. We see the Roman Legion fighting against the Germanic tribes in what surely must be one of the most spectacular battle scenes ever filmed; one which truly does give the viewer a taste of what warfare in that era must have been like. The ending is powerful, as the quest for vengeance finally comes to a head, with General Maximus facing the Emperor Commodus in a gladiatorial contest in the Roman arena. In between - well - things could have been a little better.
The acting in this movie, I thought, was first-rate. Russell Crowe as General Maximus, Joaquin Phoenix as Emperor Commodus and Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, sister of Commodus, all played their parts perfectly. The gladiatorial bouts were superbly choreographed. The set decoration was magnificent, and looked exactly as I would expect Imperial Rome to have looked. So, why do I say this could have been better?
(POSSIBLE SPOILERS)
Basically, the whole thing was just a bit too clear-cut for me. Maximus was too obviously the good guy, Commodus too obviously the bad guy. With this being so clear, we know that the movie must be heading for the final confrontation between the two, and it makes watching the middle 90 minutes or so difficult. "Get on with it," I found myself thinking from time to time. It didn't have to be quite so clear cut. The potential was there to give the viewer a real ethical choice to make. I mean, one can understand Commodus being angry when Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) - his father - takes away the throne that Commodus had believed all his life would be his, and hands control of Rome over to Maximus. Commodus could have been a sympathetic character. He didn't have to murder his father. His father was elderly; a natural death wouldn't have been out of the question. And why the incestuous fascination with Lucilla? I didn't think it added anything to the movie - except to make Commodus even more repulsive. In the end, the movie didn't make me think about anything; it didn't challenge me with any moral decision-making; it didn't make choosing sides in this battle even remotely difficult.
Don't get me wrong. This was a very good movie. One can always argue whether this movie or that should have been named best picture; one certainly has to agree that "Gladiator" was worthy of consideration. I just felt it could have been better. In the end, I give it a rating of 7/10.