Gladiator is a 2000 historical drama/action movie starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, and Djimon Hounsou. It also features Richard Harris and Oliver Reed, with Gladiator being Reed's final performance. The movie follows the story of Maximus Decimus Meridius ( most people just call him Maximus) a general of the Roman army and loyal friend to Emperor Marcus Aurelius. When the Emperor's son murders his father and seizes power he orders Maximus put to death but the general escapes. Sold into slavery he begins his quest to avenge not only himself and the Emperor but also his wife and child who Commodus has killed before Maximus can return home. Let's get right into it, staring with the actors!
Russell Crowe (Maximus)
Russell Crowe takes the leading of role of Maximus and does a great job with it. Maximus is a no-nonsense commander who does not relish war or killing. He simply wants to win and go home and feels no great hatred for Rome's enemies. He is an accomplished fighter and a reliable friend. Overall I would say he is a well balanced and interesting character who is served well by Russell Crowe's quiet intensity. Russell Crowe has fallen off the map in recent years and what was intended to be his comeback performance as Doctor Jekyll/Mr. Hyde in Unviersal's first "Dark Universe" movie The Mummy(2017) was not well received. Not to mention the disastrous movie Noah in 2014. Hopefully he finds his footing in Hollywood before he slides off into obscurity.
Djimon Hounsou (Juba)
Djimon Hounsou plays fellow slave and Numidian warrior Juba. He bonds with Maximus over the shared loss of their families and pledges to help Maximus avenge his family and hopefully reunite with his in the process. Hounsou does a fantastic job, he's great in the dramatic scenes with a serious emotional depth to his performance, and he looks skilled and natural in the action scenes. He has played Korath The Pursuer in Guardians of the Galaxy( the minion of Ronan who Star-Lord escapes from at the beginning of the film, and is set to play supporting roles in upcoming DC movies Aquaman and Shazam. He will also be reprising the role of Korath in the upcoming Captain Marvel movie. His future looks bright and he quite frankly deserves to be more recognized.
Connie Nielsen(Lucilla)
Connie Nielsen plays the daughter and sane child of the Emperor, Lucilla. She was formerly in love with Maximus, though it seems he broke it off. After the death of her father she attempts to protect her son and fight off her brother's advances(yep). Connie Nielsen does an excellent job in this movie and you can really feel the fear when Commodus is around her. She really brings out the caring aspect of her character and her performance makes you genuinely feel for the situation she has found herself in. Her barely veiled contempt for Commodus and the way he abuses his subjects also adds to the power of her performance.
Joaquin Phoenix(Commodus)
We come at last to the king of crazy Joaquin Phoenix. He is simply a perfect fit for Commodus. Joaquin Phoenix doesn't need help doing crazy things in real life, so cast him in a role like this and he can shine. You can tell he was having fun with this role and he nails it. He both hilarious and terrifying, you never know if you are talking to funny Commodus or murderous Commodus and it really elevates the tension. Add in the fact he stays committed to being a cheating scumbag to the very end and you have an exciting and interesting villain. Joaquin Phoenix's career kind of went off track after Walk the Line( another good one if you haven't seen it). A combination of burn out and few bad movie choices and he sort of just faded away for a while. It looks like he is on his way back though, landing a role in Far Bright Star(an upcoming western) and the role of the Joker( I think he can pull it off) in the upcoming Joker movie from DC. Hopefully these two movies remind Hollywood how good he is and he has a comeback, in the right roles he really can carry a movie.
Gladiator uses a mix of practical effects and CGI to bring ancient Rome to life. While the CGI wasn't amazing it did the job and the practical effects were excellent. The fights are expertly choreographed and the costumes and sets all look great. The Mill( a British effects company) was contracted to do the CGI work and while it doesn't look bad a few shots do look dated to a modern audience. Still, the massive crowd scenes and compositing of animals into fights scenes are done masterfully and lets face it, effects are nice but they don't make a good movie. The Roman soldiers look great (if a tad inaccurate) and the arms and armor of the gladiators is excellent.
A 30000 seat mud-brick arena was built for the early battles of the movie, with filming taking place in Morocco. In addition to this massive project a 1/3 scale Coliseum was built in Malta with the remainder being added digitally.
For the massive forest battle at the beginning Ridley Scott( director) convinced the English Forestry Commission to allow them to shoot the battle and burn the forest at a location they had planned on clearing in Surrey.
An unexpected yet well done effect was the need to composite together shots of Oliver Reed to finish filming after his untimely death. The team did a great job and this is one hell of a movie to go out on.
This movie has a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack that I see as Hans Zimmer's best work. It constantly elevates the movie and with that ending scene it really brings out the emotion in everyone. The example above is just one of the great tracks on this album, I would recommend getting it even if you don't care for the movie. It's just great, I don't really know what else to say.
Gladiator was hugely successful on release and rightly so. It was the highest grossing movie of 2000 with 457 million dollars. It received great reviews and won 5 Oscars including Best Picture, and Best Actor(Crowe). In addition to Academy Awards the film also won 2 Golden Globes (Best Drama and Best Score),4 Baftas( Best Editing,Film,Production Design, and Cinematography). Maximus is even featured on a stamp in Australia. In addition to all this the movie is credited with spiking interest in Greek/Roman life and entertainment leading to shows like Rome and huge "historical" movies like Troy, Kingdom of Heaven and 300.
I really love this movie. I love history and Ancient Rome, and I really enjoy the way this movie brings them back to life. I don't care if it's accurate to the period or not, it's a great movie and I enjoy it regardless of the flaws. It's my favorite Russell Crowe movie by far and just a great film in general. Watch this, but be warned, it might hit you right in the feels. Not only is this movie great, it spawned a flood of movies with the same epic look into the past, many of which are great in their own right. Filled with great quotes and epic battles this movie is an adventure you won't soon forget. Watch this movie if you haven't seen it, trust me it's worth it.
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