Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 5.0
Incredulous
Many people have had very negative reviews towards this movie. Claiming it was a rip off from Braveheart, the acting was horrible, and the visual effects were worse. From reading these reviews I've come to realize that these people wouldn't know what taste was if it slapped them on the face with a brandishing iron.While many epic stories share the same qualities, love, war, hero or anti-hero pursuing a quest...Gladiator was unique that it portrayed the soul of an epic hero with greater clarity and vision than any other movie I have ever seen.Russel Crowe was brilliant as Maximus, a once-great general turned Gladiator. While some say that Crowe was emotionless, they obviously didn't see the scene where he mourns for the slaughter of his wife and child, the very thing that kept him going for 10 years of battle. I was greatly moved by that scene and felt the anger, despair, and shock that the Gladiator also felt. And the ability to make the audience feel moved is, by my definition, the mark of a truly great actor.I could go on for pages about this movie, but suffice it to say that it was one of the best movies of the past year and well-deserving of the Acadamy Awards it received. It's nice to see that in an industry based on avarice can still produce a truly remarkable movie.