Ridley's Scott's Chef-d-oeuvre (Gladiator (DVD))

Member Name: Asasito

Product:	Gladiator (DVD)
Date:	04/03/09 (23 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Well acted, directed and shot

Disadvantages: Other films aren't like this

Ridley Scott (best known for Alien, Blade Runner and G.I. Jane) has done it again, indisputably.

It's 180 A.D., The Roman army, under the command of General Maximus (Russell Crowe), is conquering Germany. Caesar Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) doesn't have much longer to live and is on his deathbed so he decides that Maximus will rule Rome and make it a republic once more. This doesn't make Caesar's son Commodus ( a suitably menacing Joaquin Phoenix) very happy so he kills his father before he makes the announcement and seizes the position of Emperor as successor.

And now Commodus orders Maximus to be killed and thus put to death in the arena. But Maximus is a great fighter and escapes from his men's clutches. He goes back home only to find his wife and son dead in one of the most beautifully moving scenes ever put onto the silver screen Then he is captured and sold to Proximo (Oliver Reed-- who died near the end of filming), who trains gladiators. Finally of course he becomes a great gladiator and happily triumphs.

The movie has some excellent action scenes, as you would expect. The action scenes are never boring. The performances are also very good. Russell Crowe does a very good job and we do feel compelled as an audience to support him. Pheonix makes a good villian and we grow to despise his actions and even his menacing nature. The late Oliver Reed also pulls off a good performance in his last role and Djimon Hounsou (Amistad) is also very effective as a fellow slave.

The film is fantastic, purely fantastic and deserves to be preserved as one of the best 10 films that mankind has ever produced.

Summary: A must-see