Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 2.0
Don't waste your time or money!
Before I could write this review, I had to view Gladiator a second time to be sure I was being fair to the movie. In all honesty, this is a slick production and the DVD was excellent. Unfortunately the story was so lame and the acting so weak that the best I could rate it was 2 stars, primarily for the quality of the picture and the extras.The characters are one-dimensional (which is not a pan on any of the actors, you can only perform what's written). The story is worse than weak, it is not believable. At least in Ben Hur, there is an explanation as to how the character becomes a galley slave and then later wins his freedom. In Gladiator, Rome's greatest general becomes a slave, then a gladiator who later fights in Rome and no one wonders what happened to him and why the transformation.If you want to view a great "Gladiator" DVD, check out Spartacus, it doesn't have nearly as much action but the story has some substance and the characters are much better acted. If you are interested in a period piece, I would suggest Ben Hur.I have only bought two DVDs without seeing the movie first. Gladiator is one of the two and I am now firmly convinced that I will never purchase another DVD without seeing it first. What a total waste of money and time.