Epitome of the hero

Rating: 10/10 (16 August 2000)

This visually stirring movie also presents a hero that is to be admired. The picture could easily have fallen into a simple revenge story, which is how the advertisements seem to portray it, but along the way the hero realizes that revenge does not provide enough sustenance to propel him indefinitely. In the end it is his altruistic vision of the ideal of Rome that allows him to fulfil his quest. This is the kind of patriotic hero that has been missing in the movies for so long considering the cynicism of the last decade. Especially compared to the recent "The Patriot" (which is, in the end, simply a revenge story) this is a movie with a hero to be celebrated.