Member review

Ridley Scott's gladiator (2000) is a mix of thrilling action and a historical story, which tells the watcher a story of revenge and honour. The film tells the tale of a betrayed Roman general who seeks revenge against emperor Ceaser, who killed his family. With incredible acting, gorgeous CGI, and a great narrative, is a must watch film for fans of epic movies with a lot of action.

The film opens with a violent battle between Maximus along with the Roman legion, against the Germanic tribes. Ultimately the Roman legion come out victorious. The opening battle is just one example of the amazing choreography used to create a grand battle, and CGI which shows both chaos and personal moments which intros Maximus' character for he is not a simple soldier but rather he is full of integrity, honour, and devotion to his home of Rome.

The main character of Gladiator (maximus) is played by Russell Crowe and his role as maximus was spectacular, winning him the academy award for best actor. Crowe’s performance is emotionally powerful, allowing us to feel both the rage and the depression of a man who has lost everything but still refuses to give up. His determination is opposed by his gentle side which we get a glimpse of when he reminisces on his dead family. The depth of Maximus is heightened by his inner conflict between his personal revenge and his desire to fight for Rome and restore to its former glory.

The Director, Ridley Scott, did a great job in making the historical locations come to life and feel just as grand and powerful as they would have felt back then, you really get a sense of the size of the Colosseum to the small size of maximus which shadows the reality that he is so small and seemingly helpless against the empire. This is only possible due to incredible camera work used to display such incredible scenes and the incredible CGI used to re-build the Colosseum.

Overall if you’re a fan of history and films that reflect or are based off of historical events, gladiator is definitely a movie for you and I think everyone should give it a try at some point if you have the time and are okay witnessing gore.