I ordered Gladiator online the other day and through the wonders of Amazon I was able to get a new copy for 5 bucks. So today I was out from school so I figured I'd sit down and watch it.
Russell Crowe is one of my favorite actors, despite his propensity for being a hot head. I mean who wouldn't bash a hotel clerk with a telephone if he was taking his sweet time with less important things? When you're Russell Crowe you don't have to wait. Crowe has starred in such previous films as American Gangster and Cinderella Man, both great movies in my opinion. I think Russell Crowe is an amazing dramatic actor.
Gladiator is set in the times of the Roman Empire, with the current Emperor Marcus Aurelius(Richard Harris) is on his deathbed. Aurelius feels as if his life has been wasted and wants Crowe's character General Maximus Decimus Meridius to restore Rome to a Republic after his death. Doing so would slight Aurelius' son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), a cunning, merciless young man eager to be the next emperor. Commodus bears an intense hatred of Maximus since his father favors the General. In a sudden turn of events, Commodus becomes the next emperor of Rome, and Maximus' family is murdered and he is reduced to a slave, forced to fight for his freedom in a series of gladatorial battles.
This movie flows at an epic 2 hours and 30 minutes, but I feel like there wasn't a lot of development to the characters in the film. The character I felt like I knew the most was Phoenix's Commodus, who in several scenes speaks (screams rather) his mind to his sister. The main character Maximus' only distinct qualities are his heroism, and his love for his family. He is such a pure character that it is a bit of a stretch to believe. I realize that this is an epic, but I would like to feel the fear that Maximus should be experiencing before a gladiator battle, and the rush of emotions afterward. Maximus steps into the blood-filled ring by himself at one point into the deadly embrace of 7 or 8 adversaries. Boom, boom a minute later they are all dead and Maximus hasn't even broken a sweat. He is supposed to be an immensely respected veteran general of Rome, but he is human isn't he?
Other than the unwavering pureness and heroism of the main character, I had no issues with this film. The battle scenes were fantastic, and the coordination of the sword fighting is superb. I personally enjoy many other movies that are in the same vein as this one, and I would definitely recommend this film to any movie-goer that enjoys a good sword fighting epic. The ending is ultimately satisfying, and although it takes a long time to get there, you will end your movie experience with a pleasant feeling.
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American Gangster sucked. I liked this movie. I didn't love it. I do love the line "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next. " I don't know why. I used to repeat it when I was like 9. It just sounds cool.
ReplyDeleteAmerican Gangster went in and out with a bang. Pure mastery of the artistic medium that is film.
ReplyDeleteThere is a way to recieve notification about comments to answer your question you asked me before. If you go to your blog settings and go to "comments", if you scroll down you'll see something called "moderate comments". If you do this, every time somebody makes a comment, you will have to accept it first. This is mainly for keeping out spam, but it also helps you keep track of how many people are commenting on your blog
ReplyDeleteAnd you are right about American Gangster, it did go in and out. Of my head, that is. Didn't stay long. I had to make space in their for good movies.
ReplyDeleteBOOM!
It is unfortunate that space in aforementioned head is limited, 'cause you missed out.
ReplyDeleteAt last. I don't need to fetch my Armadillo. I saw Gladiator. I couldn't agree more with your post, Benny. It was lacking in any kind of depth. Your comment about Phoenix being the only real character is very interesting, but I won't watch it again just to find out if you're right. I'll take it on faith.
ReplyDeleteBelieve it or not, I didn't like the fight scenes that much. I thought that too much computerized wizardry was used, and a lot of the time I couldn't figure out who was killing whom. These are not choreographed fights in the tradition of better Chinese Marital Arts films. It was more gimmick.
Nick's comment about the quote is pretty cool. I liked that quote too.
Gladiator, one of Ridley Scott's most awarded movies. But the irony lies in that it is inferior to his earlier works such as Alien and the Sci Fi epic Bladerunner. AS much as I liked Gladiator, with its epic opening sequence, which like Saving Private Ryan is the best part of the film. But again like Saving Private Ryan the movie calms down and decends into character architypes that deviate very little. All and all it was a good movie, highly entertaining, but nothing going on underneath. In other words its a beautiful mansion, but the lights are out!
ReplyDeleteHaha, that was pretty good Rob, you summed it up nicely
ReplyDelete