Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 2.0
TWO AND A HALF STARS
Five stars, five stars, five stars... yeah, yeah, sure. GLADIATOR is as over-rated a movie as was released this year. While it's no BLAIR WITCH PROJECT in that respect, it still gets an insane amount of praise for so ordinary an effort.Yes, Russell Crowe is magnetic (and I guess if you're inclined in that direction, sexy and hunky) and Ridley Scott can still pull off his usual hat tricks (he remains the best director making bad films in the business) but really, this is a hollow effort.But, yes, the gladiatorial scenes are a sight to behold. No doubt about it, Scott is a visual master and the combat scenes are intense and rousing. If only the rest of the film were as vital and entertaining. It's not just that we've seen it all before a million times, it's that it is so so ordinary about the whole thing. The critics grousing about PHANTOM MENACE should have been doing double duty here and I bet they weren't.So, for sure, if you haven't seen GLADIATOR yet, rent it, but buy it only if you, for some silly reason, really love it.If you are looking for some great action scenes and rousing conflict on the field of battle, this is a place to look. But, if you also want to see a great film to go along with it, I think you need to look elswhere.Thanks for your time people.