Reel News - Gladiator

From general to slave, slave to gladiator, gladiator to hero

A Review by a boy who now wants to be a gladiator

"While stands the Colosseum, Rome shall stand.

When falls the Colosseum, Rome shall fall.

And when Rome falls - the World" - Lord Byron

Is Gladiator an action movie? Is it a historical drama? Is it a sweeping epic? The answer to all of these questions dear readers is yes. To put it simply, it is a spellbinding historical drama that is a long overdue return to the kind of film which engages the senses and the mind, and lingers in the memoryÖthat and I mean c'mon, it makes you want to be a gladiator.

Gladiator is Ridley Scott's latest directorial effort and really serves as a bipolar cinematic paradigm. It's a spectacle against spectacles, and skewering history for the good parts and throwing out some of the facts, it becomes a thinking person's movie. It appeals to both fanboys and girls with massive technology-enhanced sets, astoundingly awesome battle sequences, and yes, even a good ol' fashioned story dipped in love, power and revenge.

The great Roman General Maximus, passionately played by Russell Crowe, has once again led the legions of Rome to victory on the battlefield, this time against those wacky hordes of Germania. The war won, Maximus dreams of home, wanting only to return to his wife and son; however, the dying Emperor Marcus Aurelius, played by veteran actor Richard Harris, has only one more duty for the general - to assume the mantle of his power.

Enter the "apparent" heir to the throne, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) who is insanely jealous of Maximus' favour with his own father, the Emperor. In true stereotypical Roman tragic fashion, Commodus is in love with his sister, learns of his father intentions and heartlessly murders him, and then orders the execution of Maximus and his family. Barely escaping death through powerful foreshadowing glimpses of the Elysian Fields that await him, Maximus is forced into slavery and trained as a gladiator in the arena where his fame grows surreptitiously fast. His strength, exacerbated bravery and courage immediately catapult him to leadership of the pack of gladiators indentured to the same owner, Proximo. Now Maximus has come to Rome, intent on avenging the murder of his wife and son by killing the new EmperorÖCommodus.

Maximus learns that the one power stronger than that of the neophyte Emperor is the will of the people, and he knows he can only attain his revenge by becoming the greatest hero in all the empire. Throughout his gripping trials, tribulations, and inner struggles Maximus emerges as the epitome of valor, honour, and bravery that should delineate a warrior. He becomes a fighter so he has to fight no more - a general to exonerate himself from his duty to Rome, a gladiator to liberate himself from the personal demons that can be freed with the death of Commodus, the very being robbed him of the salvation of his own humanity.

In summary, Gladiator, I would have to say, is going to be the best movie of the summer. While it does contain a fair amount of violence, the graphic scenes that are in the movie are inherently necessary to the delivery of the film, and are filmed in a manner to where they avoid being overwhelmingly gory or violent. The most outstanding performance comes from Russell Crowe, who is the real star in the movie, and exemplifies it by shining supernova bright. His versatility, passion and physically virile performance make the movie worth seeing, and then seeing again. I definitely give it a Caesarian thumbs up. While the historical inaccuracies (such as the character of Maximus who is the only purely fictional character) could be considered as a negativity, there is an overall thrilling sense of transcendence that will not let go from the first masterfully constructed frames in this modern epic of ancient Rome.

Action/Adventure: 2 hrs, 45 min

Rated R for intense graphic content