Gladiator (2000)

Gladiator (2000)
Rating: 4.0 stars out of 5.0 stars

Cast: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, Richard Harris, Spencer Treat Clark Written by: David H. Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson Directed by: Ridley Scott Running Time: 157 minutes

Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) chooses his trusted general Maximus (Russell Crowe) as his successor. However the emperor's evil son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) murders his father before the announcement can be made, and Maximus (as well as his family) is sentenced to be executed. Maximus is able to escape his executioners, but is later captured and sold as a slave to Proximo (Oliver Reed). Proximo is looking for gladiators to earn himself money (he being a former gladiator himself), and Maximus reluctantly uses his skills to prove himself a powerful gladiator. When emperor Commodus announces that new games will be held in the Colisseum, Proximo takes his gladiators there to do battle. Maximus sees this as his chance to exact revenge on Commodus.

Gladiator begins with a great battle sequence between the Roman army and Germania, and actually is able to maintain interest during the now required "40 minutes of exposition after a kick ass opening sequence" style of moviemaking. The only downfall of the opening sequence is the editing style used... it's choppy slow-motion which is unsettling and distracting. It's similar to the opening sequence in Saving Private Ryan, but nowhere near as effective.

The actual gladiator battles are thrilling, but also a bit disjointed. Many times it's unclear as to exactly what's going on... all the audience can tell is that blood is being spilled. We're not sure who's blood or by who's hand though. There's an instance of this earlier in the film too that's disappointing. It's comes when Maximus escapes his executioners. Some flashes and a few quick cuts later and Maximus is free... but I still don't know exactly how he did it.

Russell Crowe should have become a major star after his gleefully over the top role as a computer generated serial killer in 1995's Virtuosity. For whatever reason his stardom never arrived... but he should have it now. From here on moviegoers should now be able to say, "Let's go see the new Russell Crowe movie". He gets the best scene in the film (and one of the best moments of all recent movies) when he reveals his identity to Commodus in the Colisseum. It's both rousing and chilling.

Joaquin Phoenix does a very effective job of making Commodus a person and not just a cartoon character (which could have easily happened). Commodus is conniving, sneaky and whiny, but Phoenix never lets the character get silly. It's a very good (and very creepy) performance.

Oliver Reed died during the filming of Gladiator, and it's a huge loss to the acting world. I've always been fascinated with Reed... he's one of those very talented performers who once had a fine career but ended up in direct to video junk during his twilight years. It's ironic that this film probably would have gotten him back into real movies again, as he gives a fun and sincere performance. The film is dedicated to him, and he will surely be missed.

Reed's death presented the filmmakers with an obvious problem, as he still had scenes to be completed. Rather than recast the role (and end up reshooting a great deal of footage), a digital version of Oliver Reed was created at a reported cost of 2 million dollars. Ironically, that was probably more money than Reed ever earned for a single film. Anyway, this digital effect is only used in one scene that I am aware of (for about twenty seconds) and if you aren't looking for it you won't even be able to tell.

Some of the other digital effects are less convincing however... and like I always say, noticable digital effects take me out of a movie immediately. It's sad that such a good film has these distractions. Movies like The Fall of the Roman Empire and Spartacus seemed to do okay without the use of computer effects.

Keep in mind that Gladiator is based on real people and real events, but is entirely a work of fiction. However it's a work of fiction that's great entertainment, and another film to add to the list of damn fine flicks released in 2000 A.D.

Reviewed by Chuck Dowling - chuckd21@fdn.com AOL Instant Messenger: FilmJax The Jacksonville Film Journal http://www.jaxfilmjournal.com/