Gladiator Review

Gladiator is a story of a man named Maximus (played by Russell Crowe), who's a general of the Roman army, he ends up leading his army to a victory at the Battle of Germania, which happens at the very beginning of this film. The terminally ill emperor of Rome named Marcus Aurelius closely observes this battle taking place. In the very next scene the dying emperor's son and daughter, Commodus and Lucilla come onto the scene, it's made clear that Commodus would be the successor to his father's throne in as little as a couple of days. Marcus Aurelius officially changes his mind and decides to make Maximus the general, the new emperor of Rome and all Maximus wants to do is to return to his family safe and sound.

Gladiator does contain one of the many great features by John Mathieson, he did a brilliant job with the cinematography. All of the battle scenes in the movie were in fact very graphic but intensely satisfying. If you hate seeing gore than this film isn't for you to watch because many of the graphic scenes in this movie play a big part of it just think about it, it's called Gladiator. Some of the scenes in this movie really did struck me, like when it appeared as if Russell Crowe was hovering over the ground incredibly fast. Many of the color tones only helped add a bigger deal to this movie's overall mood only made it that much better.

I also find it quite interesting that the script during the movie was constantly changing during the course of the movie. Some of the actors made the movie mesh that much better by revising their lines to make their character stand out or more along the lines of their character being that much more believable. I found the character casting and the acting to be out of this world, the acting was absolutely wonderful. All of the acting that takes place in this film certainly defied all odds and exceeds all the expectations placed on this movie.

Russell Crowe was incredible in playing the part of Maximus, who gets labeled as the general of an army or than becomes a slave amongst the people, who than became a battle gladiator that ends up defying the Roman emperor. They did an excellent job in selecting Russell Crowe as the main character Maximus. He really embrace his role as Maximus it appeared as if he enjoyed playing the part. His raw emotion in the movie was unbelievable as well it truly showed that he can in fact play roles that have a lot more depth of character. I would certainly consider this movie to be the one that has officially launched Russell Crowe success as a star and many my disagree with me but that's what I believe.

Joaquin Phoenix does such an excellent job as Commodus the troubled son of Marcus Aurelius, who's uncanny behavior bestowed upon his very own sister Lucilla can certainly freak anyone out. He does play a wonderful but malicious villain in how he gives his character depth by portraying some vulnerable moments and how he quickly recovers from such and be this ruthless person the very next minute. It's also quite interesting in how he embraces his role as Commodus the corrupt emperor and make it work so well. Joaquin Phoenix also has this very distinct look that he does indeed have this classis Caesar appeal that it fits his role wonderfully.

I'm a big lover of history and in fact I was a fan of Roman history and it's this reason alone that made this movie the Gladiator appeal to me. This movie to me is considered a masterpiece especially if you were to put it up their with any other history movie. Some are quick to say that the movie Spartacus is a masterpiece but the movie the Gladiator outperforms Spartacus in every aspect. All of the costume designs, acting, the story line, the scenes and all of the battles made me feel as if I was alive several thousand years ago. If your simply wondering if a Roman Empire looks like, than this movie is the one you want to see. This movie is indeed a must watch movie, it gets two thumbs up by me for the movies shear genius. I truly appreciate the individuals that have taken time out of their day to read this review I am certainly thankful for that.