Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 4.0
BRAVEHEART 2: GLADIATOR!
Yes Gladiator is a good movie, and yes, it is epic, in story, scale, and performances.... But what seems to be overlooked here are the unmistakable parallels that can be drawn between this movie and Braveheart, the best epic in this genre.Ridley Scott delivers a solid product that rivals his best work (Alien, Blade Runner, Legend, and Thelma and Louise). It may in fact be his best work to date. Nevertheless, while watching the movie I couldn't help but keep thinking about how it felt like Braveheart.... set in Rome.Our hero is a reluctant soldier, who prefers to go home and run his farm and raise a family (sounds familiar?). But instead the ones he loves are brutally massacred and he has nothing left to live for except revenge and justice (beginning to sound familiar yet). As you would expect he ultimately achieves this, but with a tragic conclusion that when compared to Braveheart now begins to feel clichéd.Please remember, however, that this is a good movie... in fact its one of the best movies in 2000 (and yes this does not say much, because this has been a dismal year for movies). The open battle is grand, but Scott films it in style that tries to hard capture the chaos of battle and this results in a sequence that lacks in coherence and lucidity.Nevertheless, if you haven't seen this movie, and you love epics that play in this space, then WATCH THIS MOVIE! ... And if you still want more watch BRAVEHEART 3: THE PATRIOT!With regards,RAYHAWK.com Web Site DesignGlendale, California.