Gladiator Review!

Alright! Today I'm reviewing Ridley Scott's 2000 Best Picture-winner Gladiator, which is the story of a general who becomes a slave, a slave who becomes a gladiator, and a gladiator who defies an emperor.  A powerful and gripping epic, Gladiator is the epitome of the sword-and-sandal genre.

The movie stars Russell Crowe as the general Maximus Decimus Meridius, whose name alone gives him main character status. He's a character defined by sheer badassery and gravitas, with enough cool lines to remind us that he is, by far, one of the greatest protagonists the epic genre has ever had. There is no way not to feel inspired by this man, and you understand why every character in the movie so completely and wholly trusts him. He’s a guy you would want to follow into battle. 

Supporting the man is Djimon Hounsou, a fellow slave who, once again, has such sheer gravitas and manliness that it lends to the epic feel of the film. Connie Nelson is Lucilla, sister of the Caesar, who has my least favorite moments in the film as a potential love interest to Maxie. The main villain of the movie is a very pale-looking Joaquin Phoenix as Caesar Commodus, whose villainy in the film is unparalleled and near cartoonish in nature. However, his disconcerting and alarmingly incestuous nature cements him as one of the scarier villains that side of the Po. 

My absolute favorite aspect of the film is how epic it is. The film is a classic tale of revenge. Within the first few minutes of the movie, a fundamentally epic premise is set up whereby one man is reduced to living singularly for revenge. It becomes his one motivation in life, and not in that cliché Marvel villain way, but rather in the “Greatest general in Rome becomes a slave whose only motivation is killing the Caesar” way. That premise alone, especially one anchored by an actor as stoically charismatic as Russell Crowe, is what makes the movie epic.

There’s just something so old-fashioned about this tale of revenge that hearkens back to cinema classics like The Ten Commandments, The Last Samurai, and Ben-Hur. The one-purpose drive and large scale of the film make that comparison feel natural as well. With a story of two former best friends, one of which is betrayed into slavery, rises above his rank, and challenges his former friend to an epic colosseum battle, Gladiator is the Ben-Hur remake that we actually needed. 

The gladiator aspect of the film is fantastic. Every fight here has a plot-driven intensity that demands respect and adds to the grit of the colosseum’s bloody history. The film utilizes its R-rating well, being sparse in language and sex and using bloody violence where needed. It’s not gratuitous, but violent in the “that guy got stabbed and we’re not PG-13 so we can show that humans have blood” way. Like 1917 and 12 Years A Slave, it’s used when appropriate, and I respect that. 

At the end of the day, Gladiator is the perfect movie if you’re looking for an uplifting story to watch alone and cry at or an epic revenge quest to watch with the bois and cheer at. It’s the duality of that effect that makes it a bona fide classic.

Overall, I give Gladiator a 10/10. “Epic in scale, scope, and motivation, Gladiator is the perfect revival of the 1950s epics.” 

Two thumbs wayyyy up!