 Gladiator is set during the time of the fall of the Roman Empire, where a dying Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) sees the error in his ways of corruption and tries to put a stop to it by naming the leader of the Roman Army, General Maximus (Russell Crowe), as the alternate heir to the throne. However, the real heir, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), tries to stop that from happening by taking matters into his own hands. That is all I'll spoil.
This film, directed by Ridley Scott (Alien, Thelma & Louise, Blade Runner), has it all. Great cinematography, great art direction, great story, score, acting, etc... It's about a 2.5 hour movie, a little on the long side, but you don't realize this because the story keeps you mesmerized. The battle scenes are nothing short of excellent, and there are enough of them spread out to keep the action fan intrested the whole time. The CG is tasteful. It could have been greatly overused, but there was just enough to make the story. The only thing I can say against it is that the CG that was used could have been a little better done.
Conclusion: This movie is for pretty much everyone, not just your average action fan. If you liked Braveheart, then you will like Gladiator. Look for this to win some Oscars. I give this a 9.0/10.0. |
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