Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife (Gladiator (DVD))

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Gladiator (DVD)
Date:	13/07/09 (138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stunning scenery, excellent casting, wonderful script

Disadvantages: ----------

I've wanted to see Gladiator since it came out but have never got around to it, even when I treated myself to the DVD from Ebay for the princely sum of £1.49 (free postage, what a bargain!) it has sat on my DVD shelf for six months without even being opened. Last night, however, I was in the mood for a film and decided to put this on and see if it actually lived up to the almost ten year hype.

There is a very basic storyline to the film that can I think be summed up in just a few lines. Maximus Decimus Meridius is a Roman General at the beginning of the film, he has had great successes in battle and forged a strong bond with his elderly Emperor. However, when his master dies and his son takes the helm life turns into a tragedy for Maximus. After refusing to pledge allegiance to the new Emperor Commodus, orders are given for Maximus' execution - and that of his wife and young son.

Maximus is ready to die but because, perhaps, of his complete support for Commodus' father he doesn't think the young Emperor will see through his threat with regards to his family. A trained warrior, Maximus evades the executioner's sword and travels at speed to his family home, fearing for his family and ready to defend them. He is too late, on his arrival he is greeted by the sight of his beloved wife and son crucified by Commodus' men. Grief overtakes him and he is found by a Gladiator trainer who soon realises he has something special in Maximus, it becomes more than money for him and he actually begins to root Maximus on in his quest for vengeance - surprising as this is a very greedy merchant, a freed Gladiator himself who will sacrifice men by the dozen to earn a few pennies.

Visually I think Gladiator was stunning. Although there a few main characters, there must have been hundreds of extras to create the crowd and battle scenes which appeared as I imagine a great Roman city to have looked. It's violent and gory in places, but although this is a film about fighting and deathly situations I felt the visual representation of the violence wasn't over the top and certainly didn't leave me feeling violated as some modern slasher films do.

"Father to a murdered son. Husband to a murdered wife." This is how Maximus explains himself to his Emperor when finally he is reunited with him, the problem is that by now Maximus has proved himself in the arena and the crowd is behind him - not for any noble reason, but quite simply because he is an entertaining gladiator who spills much blood for the crowds' excitement. Sometimes I found it hard to concentrate on the vengeance angle of the film as Maximus is surely fighting for his own life, but in reality he is simply keeping himself alive to gain revenge for his little boy and wife.

As Maximus I think Russell Crowe did his very best work. I am not a fan of the actor as he seems to take broodiness just that little bit too far most of the time, however in Gladiator I don't think they could have cast anyone better. He's mean and moody, yet shows his human side in the way he grieves for his lost family. I think Crowe took on the persona wonderfully; his bearing and attitude in my opinion were as true to the time as modern cinematography could possibly be - while still remaining interesting to the viewer, of course!

Emperor Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix, is a horrible character. Truly horrible. He has taken over from his father who is an extremely popular Emperor, but Commodus is too weak a man to take on such a role. Phoenix plays him wonderfully, he has that slightly unhinged look about him and pulls off the tantrums of Commodus to perfection. I was impressed with the inverted chemistry between Maximus and Commodus; the two men loathe each other but Commodus simply cannot find a way to rid himself of this troublesome gladiator.

All of the cast in Gladiator are excellent in all honesty; Connie Nielsen as Lucilla who tries to force her brother, Commodus', hand as he makes one bad decision after another (failing miserably most times as the Emperor might be sickly looking and borderline mentally ill, but he far surpasses her in cunning) and of course the great Oliver Reed as Proximo, the gladiator trainer and all-round greedy guts in the film. Reed has been lauded as giving a tremendous performance in Gladiator, unfortunately in my opinion this is posthumous excitement as he was very good in the role but hardly gave the best performance of the film and actually he has very little screen time considering the length of the film.

The script of Gladiator is excellent, the language drew me in from the very start. Obviously filmed in modern English, I feel that the tone of the script was completely Roman and I could imagine those ancient people talking, albeit in a completely different language! The lines and conversations in the film are fairly short and snappy, which is really what an epic of this kind needs as it conveys an essence of suspense and urgency. I felt I had to listen hard sometimes as I did think some of the dialogue was a little muffled, but again this was probably completely deliberate and done to add that little bit more tension to what is already a very tense film.

I think much of the success of Gladiator is down to the talented Ridley Scott as director. The fantastic and seamless story hinges on the magnificence of the surroundings, and in my experience Scott may be many things but he never scrimps on his scenery. A particular favourite moment of mine in the film is where Maximus and his fellow gladiators arrive at the Coliseum, in these days we don't really understand the magnitude of such a building as we are surrounded by sky scrapers and massive buildings on a daily basis. Imagine, if you will, the sight of this awe inspiring building to a group of slaves, many of whom have seen little other than their own modest dwellings and perhaps the palaces of their masters. Scott directed this scene wonderfully as he captured the awe and fascination on the faces of the gladiators to perfection and this pulled me into rooting for these poor men, including Maximus of course, all the more as they looked so small and frightened framed against this huge building of death.

I cannot fault this film and can only urge you to watch it. At 149 minutes it's a long film and I must admit I wasn't sure I could sit through it, but I'm so glad I did as I found the story to be engaging and exciting while not so fast paced that I couldn't keep up. To be honest I think it's less about the story line anyway and more a chance to showcase the modern (as of 2000) technology in creating battle scenes and interesting gladiator deaths. This was done in a clever way though and it never seemed like violence for violence sake, of course if you have picked a film called Gladiator then you should pop it in your DVD player expecting at least a modicum of death and dismemberment - and this film certainly does not disappoint in this aspect, or any other if I'm honest.

Summary: Russell Crowe's best work in my opinion.