Gladiator

Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: Awesome What more can be said! This is not only a great movie but the additional scenes add filler to gaps that left some fans wondering. BUY this immeditely, and is a great addtion to any DVD collection

Rating:
Summary: with all my heart, no...
Review: there are many pluses to this 2-disk set. the entire second disk is full of extras, like behind the scenes featurettes, the making of, etc. the sound is crisp as is the movie. i absolutely agree that the recreation of the Coliseum is very impressive and Ridley Scott, as he's done so often, conveys a seemless sense of style and scale. the battle sequence with the volleys of fire arrows was exceptional.

i agree with some of the other reviewers that if this were strictly an action flick, i would probably rate it five stars but with the stigma of a picture of the year, i find it overrated; the story is a bit abreviated and disjointed. perhaps it's nitpicking but there is a real lack of motivation in the Russell Crowe's character: why does he fight? in fact, there is more compelling reason for him NOT to go on.

'I will always serve Rome' -- well, not really. we're not given any vision of Rome except maybe for Marcus' but that was to give Rome back to the people. well, wasn't Commodus on his way to getting the mob to come around with the games? it is really unclear how badly Commodus would have ruled (there is no benchmark left by Marcus to judge) except for that one insensitive remark about the Greek quarters and that he brought back the games (ok, regicide/patricide is bad). wasn't Marcus worse by his conquests of 'barbarians' and taking over them?! Rome is the light? maybe but i'm sure the 'barbarians' would disagree. only the victors write histories.

'Let me go home' -- even more reason for him not to fight. staying alive meant being apart from his family. there is no home for him among the living. sure, revenge is an issue but was that a realistic thought in the beginning?

for me what kept him alive was his loyality to Marcus and his need to be able to return home. both were taken early on. he decision not to fight initially as a slave was consistent; the crowd doesn't even motivate him (killing everyone in record time and screaming 'Is this what you want?!' and throwing the sword away in disgust.)

finally, the duel at the end was trite... Maximus winning despite being injured and drugged. i have a lot of problem with this, as the feeling throughout the movie was that he will never lose a fight and therefore there was no suspense or expectation. Maximus was barely hit by Commodus despite the fact that early on we see Commodus training and being quite good. (a better executed duel was the way Rob Roy ended -- it was in doubt and he won only in a desparate manner).

i don't hate this film; it is a good movie but just not exceptional. the extras on the disks and the cinemtagraphy makes it worthwhile but i couldn't seriously give this five stars.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie
Review: This is an excellent movie with great acting, a well thought out plot, and a beautiful score (Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard). Before I saw it, I assumed it would be just another typical 'fighting' movie, but it is actually much more in depth. I was very surprised. This is also an excellent DVD package - there's a whole separate disc just for the bonus materials, which include director commentary, deleted scenes, an interview with the composer, a photo gallery, cast member bios, etc. Considering that you can get other DVDs without any of these extra features for the same price, the $23 price tag is well worth it.

Rating:
Summary: Not since Rome have we seen something this grand!
Review: Based loosley around the film 'Fall of the Roman Empire', 'Gladiator' is a brilliant epic from director Ridley Scott, bringing the glory and bloodshed of ancient Rome back beautifully. Whether its the gorgeous visual effects, moving story and music, gritty battle sequences, or superb acting that gets you, one thing is for certain: Gladiator is an epic adventure, worthy of all its hype.

Russell Crowe's explodes into the spotlight with his role of Maximus, the greatest soldier and general in the Roman army. When Marcus Aurelias is murdered by his son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the role of the 'evil' emperor to its limit), Maximus is sentenced to death. His family is murdered, and he barely escapes execution with his life. He is picked up, sick and weak, by slavers, where he travels to Africa and becomes a gladiator. With the help of his new found friends, Maximus eventually rises to Rome, where in the Coliseum, he prepares to take his revenge on Commodus, and free Rome and his once lost love, Lucilla (Connie Nielson).

The story itself is beautifully crafted around actual historical events. For example, Marcus Aurelias was murdered by his son Commodus. Commodus did go mad. Commodus did fight in the gladiatorial battles of the coliseum. and Commodus was killed in combat by a gladiator. By using these true events to act as connection points, the story flows together, with love and war and revenge all into one. The music, by composer Hans Zimmer, is absolutely outstanding, though the Celtic feel of it sometimes seems out of place. The special effects are impressive; never before have we seen Rome or the Coliseum like this. And acting is excellent from all.

The movie is not perfect. There are minor plot errors, as well as historical aspects that are fictional (the Roman army did not have archers at that point in time; Roman swords were meant only for stabbing; Romans did not have saddles on their horses). But these are minor in the grand scene. And grand it is. Gladiator is by far one of the best movies to come out in quite a while. It easily ranks up with BraveHeart, El Cid, and other historical epics, and deserves every award it has gotten and will get. Don't miss this one.

Rating:
Summary: Techincal problem in this DVD?
Review: I noticed my Dolby Digital (or DTS) processor indicated that the subwoofer channel signal is there when I'm playing this movie, but the subwoofer is not projecting any of the low frequency rumbles at all. I tried this with DTS as well as Digital Dolby and both behaved the same way. All of my other DVDs behaved fine and subwoofer rumbled fine.

Anyone out there experiencing this problem with this particular DVD? Check it out, put your ear next to the sub while while they are fighting at the first few scenes. The sub is totally silent.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I'm not normally a fan of Hollywood movies, but"Gladiator" is not the norm. Although there were severalcircumstances in this film, which I sincerely doubt would ever havehappened in true roman times (ie. the emperor (joaquin phoenix)fighting maximus (russell crowe) in the colliseum and the suddenchange of heart within the praetorian guard), this film truly deservesfive stars. Crowe gives a splendid performance as the fearlesssoldier, merciful and uncorrupted and yet unfailingly worldly.Despite the violence, which Crowe's character displays, his love forhis family, his humour in the face of death and his profoundphilosophy is truly memorable. Moreover, Phoenix plays such aconvincing villain that he forever more will be ingrained in my memoryas a "drip." In addition, the musical score for this filmpossesses a certain irony as it swells into epic song in the mostgruesome parts. Best of all is the ending. Although it was fairlyobvious that Maximus would fulfill the former emperor's legacy, theway the film turned out was a pleasant surprise....Parts of this filmwere surreal and others were brutally "real," for lack ofbetter definition. As it is, this film is one that I plan onpurchasing for my permanent collection.

Rating:
Summary: I guess my expectations were too high. Disappointed.
Review: One of my favorite movies of all time is Braveheart and I had heard such glowing reviews of Gladiator and often comparisons to Braveheart that I couldn't wait to see it. I found it mostly boring. The storyline never caught me....I never felt for the character Russel Crowe played (though he was GREAT in the Insider). Joaquin Phoenix did make a pretty good "bad guy" but overall I was disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Something for everyone
Review: A very educational movie with stunning effects and a great script allow this movie to be one of the best of the year. Try watching it with you children (teens and above) so that they can learn about the Roman Empire.

Rating:
Summary: Somone spoiled it for me
Review: I would have probably liked the movie MUCH better if someone (ahem..a reviewer from this site) didn't say what happens at the end (if you've seen the movie, you know what I mean). Overall, a good movie with tight special effects.

Rating:
Summary: Potential unrealized
Review: Knowing that the movie would be (basically) historically inaccurate, I went expecting to like it anyway. However, despite some excellent performances, the movie is too long and doesn't really realize it's potential. My biggest complaint was the very obvious transitions between live action and computer animation - something that shouldn't occur with the techniques available today. Russell Crowe's performance is the saving grace of the movie, but I can't recommend it to anyone interested in historical fact or riveting drama.