Customer Reviews
Gladiator - By: John Corbett, 07 May 2006 
Hot off filming The Insider, Russell Crowe lost 40lbs of weight & built up his muscles to play thinking women's sex object Maximus, the Roman general turned gladiator, in Hollywood's first true Roman epic for over three decades. Exiled when his mentor, Caesar Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) dies & is succeeded by his power-hungry son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), Maximus, now in exile, trains as a gladiator & swears his revenge - understandable when you consider that Commodus not only kicked Maximus out of the bosom of Rome & tried to kill him, but also had his family murdered.
As you would expect from director Ridley Scott, the movie is epic not only in scale but also in imagery, as the majesty that was Rome is re-created superbly on screen (much praise is due here to Scott's cinematographer, John Mathieson). But Scott doesn't lose sight of the human side of the story amid the computer trickery, brilliantly staged battle sequences, & spectacular sets, delivering a fascinating, grisly, & heroic tale. With skilled actors, most notably Crowe, a wonderfully preening Phoenix and, in his final role, Oliver Reed who sadly died during filming - his remaing scenes were generated using a stand-in & computer-enhanced filmwork.
