Gladiator, Directed by Ridley Scott; starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielson, Oliver Reed and Kjimon Honsou.
As anyone who has taken Psych 101 will tell you, expectations are everything. When I entered the theater to attend a 5 p.m. showing of Gladiator and discovered that the next screening wasn’t until 8:30 p.m., I would have gladly forgone the $8.50 spent on a ticket and $6.50 dished out to snacks and sodas. But my companion, eager to check out Ridley Scott’s latest epic adventure, begged me to say.
Two hours and 45 minutes later, I left the theater pleasantly surprised that the 2 hours and 45 minutes felt more like 2 hours and 40 minutes, while my companion said he felt like he had been sitting in the dank dark theater for weeks. The moral of the story: don’t expect anything and you just might be pleasantly surprised.
This should not be misinterpreted as ringing endorsement of Gladiator, Ridley Scott’s fictional tale about “a general, who becomes a slave, who becomes a gladiator, who defies an emperor.” Nor should it be read as a pan. The movie is neither as tedious as one might anticipate nor as good as it could be.
The year is 150 AD. Russell Crowe stars as Maximus, the general/slave/gladiator who is asked by Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) to succeed him as ruler of the Roman Empire. Of course, this vexes Aurelius’ son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) who naturally assumes that as the emperor’s official offspring, the throne should be his. So Commodus first kills his father and then sentences Maximus, along with his wife and young son, to death.
Of course, as star of the film, Maximus escapes what appears to be certain demise. Unfortunately, the wife and son are not as lucky. Maximus is then sold into slavery where he is forced to become a gladiator. Through the fame achieved defending his life, Maximus is eventually reacquainted with Commodus and the two men spend the rest of the film duking it out over the fate of the Roman Empire.
What makes the movie tolerable, even entertaining, is Crowe’s dynamic performance. Since he burst onto the Hollywood scene three years ago as the love-struck thug in L.A. Confidential, Crowe has demonstrated as much versatility as the British chameleon Daniel Day Lewis. Unfortunately, the rest of the performances, particularly Phoenix as Commodus, stand out sorely against Crowe’s valiant yet tortured hero. Other than his captivatingly repulsive looks, which seem tailored for the role of a villain, Phoenix is as miscast in Gladiator as Keanu Reeves is in everything he’s done – other than Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, of course.
Ridley Scott’s luscious direction is similarly beguiling. There are moments when his artful touch enhances what might otherwise be just another predictable battle scene. There are other moments, however, when his style seems incongruous with the material. For instance, there are a number of dream sequences where the direction seems more appropriate for a futuristic tale – like Scott’s cult classic, Blade Runner – than an epic adventure set in 150 AD.
Nonetheless, Gladiator is basically entertaining fare, and if you toss all expectations aside you’ll probably enjoy the ride. – JoAnne Steglitz
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