Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 5.0
Maximus Magnificent
Tell me a story.In essence, that is all we as consumers of entertainment demand when we open a book or watch a movie. Yes, we may have our reservations (e.g., "I don't like the actor"..."This is not historically accurate"..."This plot has been presented thousands of times before"...), but in the end, ultimately, the triumphant success--or lack thereof--of any work is wholly dependent on its ability to tell a gripping, compelling story.Ridley Scott gives us a story in GLADIATOR. From the opening scenes in barbaric Germania, to the bowels of dusty dungeons in distant lands, to the eye-opening magnificence of the Roman Coliseum, to the wondrous luxury of the palace of Emperor Commodus, GLADIATOR tells a moving, thrilling, harrowing story of heroism and revenge. At the end of this film, when an avenged Maximus is finally able to join his murdered wife and son in the afterlife, I as a viewer experienced completion...the story had been told.Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielson, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris and company give exceptional performances. GLADIATOR is an epic. An epic story.