Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 1.0
Not Oscar Worthy
The hype surrounding Gladiator led me to believe that this would be an incredible movie. What it proved to be was a TYPICAL epic with the basic plot of every other epic ever made. The acting is done fine but was not superb by any means. Aren't we getting a little tired of revenge as the main theme for movies? It's time to expand our minds. Movies such as Traffic accomplished this goal. It was an original film. Gladiator won because it had "cool battle scenes" which were not the greatest ever made. They were poorly designed and the speciall effects were not as well thought out as the special effects in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Gladiator proved to be typical in many respects. The plot was obvious to begin with. It's heartwrenching that his family was murdered but give me a break. Let's talk about ultimate movie cliche. My family was killed, I must avenge their death. Gladiator follows the Last of the Mohicans pretty well, differing only in the time period it takes place. The Academy needs to become more true to the nature of their awards. The BEST movie of the year should be chosen, not the most typical.