Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 3.0
Resembles Braveheart to closely at times, but...
I had reservations on seeing Gladiator, after watching countless episodes of Hercules and Xena taking artistic licience to the limits of rationality regarding Roman history. But after the first battle scene, I kinda sat back and waited to see where they would go with it. Its very acurate at showing Rome at its peak, it has awesome fight/battle scenes, and shows that everything in the Gladiator games does inspire modern sports entertainment like pro wrestling. Russel Crowe displayed acting chops and sheer screen presance through out the film, and doesn't appear to be to overly physicly developed for the time it takes place in. My only problem with the movie is that several key plot points seem to have been lifted right out of Braveheart. I dont want to spoil anything, but it just seems weak a movie has to take so much from something else to stand on its own. Fans of Braveheart will know what Im talking about after seeing this movie too.