Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 5.0
A real epic
Every summer there's at least one blockbuster movie. Usually it's a complete no-brainer, but 'Gladiator' proved otherwise. The premise is basic as Maximus (Crowe) battles his way through the gladitorial arenas to win his freedom and avenge the deaths of his wife and son. Ridley Scott is one of those directors that every so often really hits the big time with his movies such as 'Alien' and 'Thelma And Louise', and 'Gladiator' is one such movie. It manages to drag up the old gladiator epic and breathe new life into it without resorting to camp. Using state of the art computer graphics you'll believe that you're actually seeing ancient Rome and this is definitely a highly cinematic film that loses something on video.The acting is fantastic as well. This burst Russell Crowe into the big league, something that anyone who had previously watched 'The Insider' or 'LA Confidential' already knew to be inevitable. As loner Maximus he is perfectly cast and manages to bring to his character what is perhaps left out in the script. As the villainous emperor, Joaquin Phoenix is genuinely creepy and actually quite unconventional as well. The emperor's sister Lucille is also played with vigour by Connie Nielson and Oliver Reed turns in a last performance as a gladiator owner.Unfortunately 'Gladiator' does tend to modernise the premise, with a few politically correct characters thrown in as an afterthough. Over anything else this is a blockbuster and as such can't be viewed as anything truly revelatory. Yet viewed simply as a movie it is a stunning breakthrough: utterly breathtaking and compelling in equal measure.