Roll-M - Gladiator |
Gladiator (starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris; written by David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson; directed by Ridley Scott; rated R).
In the 1950s and early 60s, the wide-screen biblical epic was intended to lure audiences away from their living rooms awash in the black and white glow of their tiny TV sets, back into the movie theatres they’d abandoned. Films like Spartacus, Ben-Hur and Quo Vadis told tales of righteous Christians being fed to hungry felines — and each other. I am happy to say that Gladiator, the most recent incarnation of this genre, has brought it back with a vengeance. And with $100 million to spend, this is a movie to be reckoned with.
Russell Crowe portrays Maximus, the film’s hero, an army general favored by the dying Roman emperor (Richard Harris) over the ruler’s own son (Joaquin Phoenix in a wonderfully menacing role as Commodus). To secure his own position as the new emperor, Commodus commits patricide, kills off general Maximus’ wife and son, and fails in an attempt to have Maximus killed. Maximus is later captured and shipped off to the colonies for gladiator training. Eventually, Max shows up in the Eternal City ready to kick Roman butt – namely the young emperor’s.
There’s much that is derivative in this film. The early forest battle sequences in "Germania" bring Boorman’s Excalibur as well as Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan to mind, along with the above-mentioned biblical tales (thankfully, there are no religious overtones to Gladiator). Although long on blood and headless torsos, there is a well-told story and exceptional acting and directing to make this a worthwhile film. The special effects are noteworthy, especially the CGI-enhanced Colosseum, which hasn’t looked this realistic on film before. (The one exception was an obviously stuffed "dead" tiger that looked like it came from FAO Schwarz.)
Russell Crowe’s performance – you may recall him from his Academy Award-nomination in The Insider – assures us that he is destined for stardom. Here he seems a worthy successor to Richard Burton, a comparison to whom it is difficult to avoid. As they would say in Rome, (I’m not borrowing from Roger Ebert here) – "thumbs up."
FOUR OWLS (OUT OF FIVE)