<bias explained>I spent 7 years of my life learning latin. Wait, hold up, you say? Why would anyone dive into a dead language? What vocational value does latin bestow upon those who embrace it? Eeks, do you hate yourself and have a strong masochist desire for classical learning? I’ll explain this with a quick swing - I love gladiators. I love the idea, I love the execution and I am endlessly intrigued by any civilization who thought that massive amounts of welfare and brutal games would maintain order in their state. Ah the wonders of the age of panem et circenses (bread and games). Naturally, when I saw the preview for Gladiator (the greatest trailer ever, the horns and drums were just perfect and the “AM I NOT MERCIFUL” line from Joaquin Phoenix was fanfabultastic…I will not argue about this), I was all jazzed up and my desires only slightly tempered by my recollection of the procession of terrible gladiator movies which have appeared in theaters in the past. When I noted the attachment to the film of both director Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner) and star Russell Crowe, aka the manliest screen presence ever, I was giddy like a schoolgirl - giddy enough to download the 40 mb trailer and watch it every hour or so for about a month.</bias explained>
First Impressions
So, I finally got to see this movie at the Metreon, in beautiful downtown San Francisco, where the theaters are fully decked out in the best that theaters have to offer: stadium love seating, speakers that can blow your mind right through your ears and out of your body, and a general ambience of “This is the nicest movie theater in which you will take in cinema. In fact, it is so nice, that you shouldn’t even sit and watch movies here. You should just sit and stare at the theater as a work of art.” As you can see, I had everything going for me to make this either a huge delight or a huge disappointment.
This was my favorite movie since Rushmore, and maybe the single best movie in the category of “Benefits the most from being viewed on the Big Screen.” This film is just epic. A sweeping story of the general who became a slave, the slave who became a gladiator, the gladiator who defied an emperor. The battle scenes were on another level. An intense reenactment of a fictitious battle between Roman legions and a ferocious tribe of barbaric Germanic peoples was the viewer’s first scene, and the rest of the movie followed it up with spell binding recreations of gladiatorial combat. The gladiator scenes were the most interesting and captivating of any action scenes which I have ever seen - creative, tightly choreographed and thoroughly merciless.
Cinematography and Sound
The cinematography was amazing - beautiful sets that painted the look and feel of 200 A.D. onto the film and well done computer graphics granted the triumphal procession into Rome a measure of authenticity. The music completed the work, as Lisa Gerard (You might remember her work from The Insider) soulful almost haunting songs were sprinkled in Hans Zimmer’s orchestral works to pull and tug the audience into the world of Rome and the life of Maximus.
Plot and Actors
The weakest element was the plot - not to say that it was weak, but to say that it was weaker than the other parts of the movie which were outstanding. The action scene were top notch but not frequent enough. Or maybe they would have been frequent enough if the story had not slowed down so often and for such long periods of time. Luckily, the film’s plot was buoyed by the tour de force performance of Russell Crowe, the man who is machismo incarnate. He was just lighting on film as Maximus, the gladiator. Able to make believable and moving such lines as ”What we do in life, echoes in eternity,” with this movie Crowe became my favorite actor (his performance in the Insider is magnificent as well, but for totally different reasons - this man has such range). Mr. Phoenix and Connie Britton were solid in supporting roles as Commodus and Lucilla. Notably, Lucilla was almost the only women ever on screen for 2 hours, other than a brief glimpse of the wife of Maximus.
About Historical Inaccuracy
A brief note about general historical inaccuracy and contrivance in cinema. Films are an escapist for of entertainment, so when they display reality they do in away that glamorizes it and that takes poetic license with it. They will inevitably not be historically accurate, especially so when the subject matter occurred 1800 years in the past. Heck, they could not even make a historically accurate movie about 1990 - they would probably make the hammer pants too big and too common. Go and enjoy the movies for what they are - fantastic escapist treats. Going to the movies and complaining about historical inaccuracy is akin to buying beef from the butcher and complaining about eating meat.
Conclusion
Go see this movie. Go see it in a big, wonderful theater. Go take it all in, every morsel of Gladiator fun. And remember: What you watch in life, echoes...for about a week.
Set in Roman times, a banished Roman General fights his way back as a gladiator. The only power stronger than the Emperor is the greatest hero in all ...More at HotMovieSale.com
The general who became a slave. The slave that became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an empire. After another mighty victory on the battlefield...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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