Gladiator

Rating:
Summary: Gripping story with enough action to keep you blood soaked!
Review: This was one of the best movies I have seen in the year 2000! The griping story of the hero Maximos kept me on the edge of my seat through the entire show! I highly suggest this movie to everyone!!!

Rating:
Summary: Best movie to see.
Review: Most people have underrated this movie and they are entitled to their opinion. But they must now or never pull the blindfold from their eyes and see the truth and majesty in this movie. "It seemed to be moving at 2 miles per hour." Tsk tsk tsk. If you dont listen to the teacher you dont learn anything. I would recomend this movie to anyone who has an imagination and really likes to watch movies with spectacular special effects. It is full of romance, war, and revenge. "What we do in life, echoes in eternity." I wish there were only more stars i could award this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Fits well into its own shoes
Review: This movie has drawn many comparisons to Braveheart. The basic difference between the two besides taking place in different times and in different countries ... is that Braveheart is supposed to be based around, however loosely, the life of William Wallace whereas Gladiator is almost purely fiction.

If one looks at "Gladiator" through the same lens through which they view Braveheart, they are not giving the movie a fair shake.

Gladiator is a good old-fashioned hero movie. It doesn't matter if its characters dress like real romans did or speak like them, which they obviously don't.

What is endearing about Gladiator is primarily embodied in the character of Maximus. He loves his family, he is loyal to the king, he fights for his ideals, he brings the smack down when necessary.

I give Gladiator 4 stars because I feel that is accomplished all that it set out to but it could have set out to accomplish more.

Just as a side note: The action is all first-rate, I was especially impressed with the "Battle of Carthage" scene.

Rating:
Summary: entertaining production that strives at quality
Review: Probably another of Ridley Scott's tributes to kubrick, certainly does not compare to spartacus - again like most films nowadays too much technology and too little attention to the screenplay. The cinematography and Scott's direction carry the film. The fact that Russell Crowe was voted sexiest actor is another sign of the times. Overall, another addition to the line of movies that entertain and not much more.

Rating:
Summary: Boring with no climax
Review: I thought this was the most boring movie I had ever seen. I fell asleep to it twice. It seemed to move at the pace of 2 miles per hour. I defintely do not recommend this film.

Rating:
Summary: Gladiator Movie of the Year?????
Review: Intresting thing about this movie is that people either love it or hate it. I found it to be one of the best movies I had seen in a while. Now I'm not saying this becuase i'm a guy and i like gory movies. This movie blew me over. It was brilliant in its mastery of reinacting the life of a gladiator and furthermore it had some of the most powerful speeches and thought provoking ideas that I have heard since braveheart. I give this movie 5 stars and I'm sorry that I couldn't give it 6.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Movie of the Year
Review: Like Braveheart, this movie touches on the idealistic and poetic. The fights are very real and powerful. The movie acurately depicts the cruelty of the slave trade in Roman times. I think this movie is Russell Crowe's best performance

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing film from Ridley Scott
Review: I was very disappointed in this film from Scott. I have liked most of his films. I didn't think the action scenes were that impressive. The first battle, you couldn't see what was going on in it. Russell Crowe's character was never really challenged throughout the film. I did think Crowe did a good job in the film. It was to expected after standout performances in LA Confidential and The Insider. The story just did not draw me in. Everything looked too easy for Crowe's character (I know I am repeating myself here). It is just disheartening when a good director and a good actor get together and they make a mediocre film. A similar film is Braveheart. Braveheart is a much better film than this. That film thrust you into the battle scenes and made you care about William Wallace. That film had heart, while this film seemed cold and distant. I am sure Scott and Crowe will bounce back with their next projects.

Rating:
Summary: TWO AND A HALF STARS
Review: Five stars, five stars, five stars... yeah, yeah, sure. GLADIATOR is as over-rated a movie as was released this year. While it's no BLAIR WITCH PROJECT in that respect, it still gets an insane amount of praise for so ordinary an effort.

Yes, Russell Crowe is magnetic (and I guess if you're inclined in that direction, sexy and hunky) and Ridley Scott can still pull off his usual hat tricks (he remains the best director making bad films in the business) but really, this is a hollow effort.

But, yes, the gladiatorial scenes are a sight to behold. No doubt about it, Scott is a visual master and the combat scenes are intense and rousing. If only the rest of the film were as vital and entertaining. It's not just that we've seen it all before a million times, it's that it is so so ordinary about the whole thing. The critics grousing about PHANTOM MENACE should have been doing double duty here and I bet they weren't.

So, for sure, if you haven't seen GLADIATOR yet, rent it, but buy it only if you, for some silly reason, really love it.

If you are looking for some great action scenes and rousing conflict on the field of battle, this is a place to look. But, if you also want to see a great film to go along with it, I think you need to look elswhere.

Thanks for your time people.

Rating:
Summary: Unmistakeable Beauty
Review: After experiencing this film for the first time I walked out of the theater with a huge lump in my throat. Such haunting glory, such subdued greatness....it was as if I had been in the Coliseum fighting along side Maximus (Crowe). One cannot begin to explain the pure genius of this motion picture. It brings you to emotianal, physical and pychological climax in less than the first thirty minutes only to bring you back again. Crowe, Phoinex and Neilsen all act with Oscar worthy preformances. Neilsen with her absolute helplessness, Phoinex with his twisted, evil and ambitious potrayal of the emperor Commodus and Crowe with his heart wrenching character Maximus: Father, General, Gladiator, hero. Not only are the actors stunningly beautiful, the visuals are likewise. If you have ever wanted to know what Rome would look like before Attila the Hun, before natural disaster, before collapes, this is your chance. "Gladiator" will take you from a quiet villa in ancient Spain to the over-crowded, energy-packed streets of the greatest empire on earth. With visuals never before attempted and acting that of gods, what is left to stir your senses more? Music. "Gladiator" contains one of the most glorious soundtracks I have ever heard. Hans Zimmer amasses cellos, ancient mandolins and precussion instruments, latin vocalist and his already untouchable talent to create a spine-tingeling score worthy of any award. I especially loved the song played during credits, "Now We Are Free". It truly gave me goosebumps. I don't recomend that you buy this, I command it. "Gladiator" is for anyone who loves action, adventure, romance and characters so deep with emotion you cannot help but watch it again. I have seen this movie four times and every time I come out feeling as though I should not speak or else the soft fog of the moment will break. Buy it. You will love it.