TL;DR –. When the bombast hits, you still feel what made it a special film all those years ago.  

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Paramount+ service that viewed this film.

Gladiator Review –

In this day and age, companies are trying to find a way to get people back into the cinemas, and the current plan has a lot to do with bringing back classic films with sequels decades later. That means this week we get a new Gladiator film, which I am honestly looking forward to. But as I was sitting there, I realised it had been a decade since I had watched the first film, and that is something that I had to fix, and there is no better time than the present.

So, to set the scene, it is at the height of the Roman Empire, and the Romans controlled everything from Britain to the Deserts of Africa and Arabia. In the north, Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) was fighting a campaign against the tribes of Germania, led by his one trusted general, Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe). But when Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), the son of the emperor, discovers that his father wants to restore the Republic, he kills him. He has Maximus arrested when he won’t declare loyalty to the new emperor. Maximus escapes, but before he can get home, his family is murdered, and slave traders capture him. Now, he has but one choice: die in the arena or win and get revenge for his fallen.

Sitting down watching Gladiator, you really feel just how different a time in cinema the 2000s were. These were not the days when the musical score slunk in the background. It blasted out over the action. The picture colour is coded in stark terms, and the action is slow-mo. It is a film full of bombast, and it knows that is what it wants to be. There is a confidence that explodes from every frame of this as Russell Crowe declares, “Are you not entertained?” However, that bombast is both the film’s biggest strength but also its biggest weakness. The action scenes are where the film is at its best: the crash of swords, the clop of horses’ hooves, and the roar of tigers. After twenty years, that all still holds up. Sure, a lot of the production design is not period-accurate, but they captured the vibe that you needed. I think if you lived in that era, then you have a favourite battle from the film, the opening melee in Germany, Maximus’ arrival in the Colosseum, or the finale dual. For me, it is when Maximus is sent out alone in Zuccabar.

However, while the film excels in the conflict, it flounders a bit in the drama. Part of it might just have been the era in which the film was made, where or historical movies needed to have semi-Shakespearean vibes. Some people can make that work, most notably Oliver Reed, but not all of the cast. Also, there is no attempt to cover anyone’s accents, which can be jarring at times. Mostly, all this does is pad out what is already quite a long film, with what can be some awkward insertions in places. But whenever you start getting frustrated, the film then throws you a bone like that slow build into the first fight in the Colosseum. A slow build, ratcheting up the tension with each step towards the abyss.  

In the end, do we recommend Gladiator? In many respects, I would recommend it just because of the cinematic time capsule that it was. It is also probably some of Ridley Scott’s best work. Sure, some of the effects don’t hold up after all these years, but when the action hits and the story lands, you just can’t help but get taken away with this world. If you liked Gladiator, we would recommend to you RRR.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Gladiator
Directed by – Ridley Scott
Screenplay by – David Franzoni, John Logan & William Nicholson
Story by – David Franzoni
Music by – Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard
Cinematography by – John Mathieson
Edited by – Pietro Scalia
Production/Distribution Companies – DreamWorks Pictures, Universal Pictures, Scott Free Productions, Red Wagon Entertainment & Paramount+
Starring – Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou, Richard Harris, Ralf Möller, Tommy Flanagan, David Schofield, John Shrapnel, Tomas Arana, Spencer Treat Clark, David Hemmings, Sven-Ole Thorsen, Omid Djalili, Giannina Facio & Giorgio Cantarini  
Rating – Australia: M; Canada: 14A; Germany: 12; New Zealand: M; United Kingdom: 15; United States: R