Product: Gladiator [VHS] (2000)
Rating: 4.0
Good film, but joyless
The other reviews on this site list all of the admirable qualities of Gladiator. However, there is something that needs to be adressed. It's a good movie, but it has one flaw: its deadpan seriousness.Gladiator pays homage to Spartacus, Ben-Hur: epics of Ancient Rome. However, it ignores that the other films aren't all serious. The tone of the other films has some lighthearted parts. However, this film just won't let up on the gloom.I can apreicate that Maximus (Crowe) has lost everything he had, and so isn't inclined to be happy. But director Ridley Scott seems to think that this means the entire film should be sad. Humor and drama, as a rule, help each other thrive.There are, to be fair, some lighter notes: two times the viewer chuckles. However, two is hardly enough: Hamlet, a dark play by any standards, has some great laughs of all stripes.Gladiator is a good movie; it has a properly epic feel at times, and is quite stirring at times. But the overly depressing feel that covers the film keeps it from acheiving greatness.