Rating: 
Summary: Gladiator-Deserving of Best Picture
Review: Gladiator is a remarkable film. It lavishly recreates the glory and decadence of the Roman Empire. Gladiator's central character is the Roman general Maximus (Russell Crowe). The ailing Emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), decides to pass his powers to Maximus, to the consternation of his son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Upon Aurelius' death Commodus becomes emperor. This is the point in the story where Maximus' livelihood takes a turn for the worse.The action scenes in Gladiator are outstanding. The performances were Oscar caliber. Russell Crowe has the best screen presence of any actor I've seen. His academy award was well deserved. Joaquin Phoenix was riveting as the scheming Commodus. Phoenix was one of the best screen villians I have seen in a long time. It's a shame he did not win an Oscar as well.Many people complain that Gladiator is nothing more than well choreographed action sequences. This could not be further from the truth. I've seen this film five times and I get a little more out of it with each viewing. Gladiator is a story of two men, Maximus and Commodus, vying for the love and respect of their fellow citizens. I highly recommend this dvd.
Rating:
Summary: gladiatoral movie!
Review: A Gladiator of a film, with a leading man to match. This was truely the best film of the year and deserving of the much used desriptive `epic`. Outstanding performances from all of the cast but surely the most watchable, by Russell Crowe, who fills his character to the the full (literally and figuratively). If you want to "watch a film" then this is the one. The DVD version is fab value for money with oodles of extras, which are definately worth the leap from VHS to DVD (if you havent done so already, this is the film to persuade you to do so). This film has everything one is looking for in this this entertainment genre, action, suspense, intrigue, surprises, beautiful cinematography, character growth and phenomenal performances (Joaquin Phoenix is truely chilling as the mad egotistical evil emperor and was in my opinion robbed of the oscar for best supporting actor), and an element almost synoymous with Russell Crowe now, sexual tension (yes its there if you were paying attention). If you buy nothing else this year get this. You will not be dissapointed. I watched it, I enjoyed it, I watched it again and will do so over and over.
Rating: 
Summary: 3 1/2 stars; lots of style but not much substance
Review: As I left the theatre to this film, I overheard a lady telling her husband that it was a simple story of good guy versus bad guy. No complexity. She pretty much hit the nail on the head. KAWHAP! I found this film to be good for its special effects and costumes and mediocre to above average in storyline. The former for the costumes, wonderful renditions of the colosseum and city of Rome . . . but not so good story as there were a few plot holes. I don't want to give anything away but look for these elements: (1) the opening battle scene (anticlimatic); (2) self absorbed Emperor Commodus who slowed down the pace of the story; (3) overly slow flashbacks and dreams; (4) atrocious Historical accuracy: there was an Emperor Commodus but he wasn't slain in the ring; one of his competitors had a wrestler slay him; (5) one word gets out that a Roman general is alive, his troops tended to march upon any city to free him. This was typical in Roman History when the leader was well loved as Maximus was . . .woops! . .. of course, we never hear much about it. (6) If Commodus wanted to win the love of the people, there are better ways than matching swords with some ex general who hates your guts. The GOOD PARTS OF THE FILM WERE: (1) wonderful colosseum fights; kudos to the Battle of Carthage in the middle; (2) Russel Crowe did a great job (anyone notice how surprised he looked to have gotten best actor in the AA?); (3) wonderful cinematography of the city, colosseum, tigers and the seven hills of rome; the birds; the sunlight; etc (4) great and realistic looking costumes; believable extras; and (5) some pretty good backstory with the minor characters, as well as the main character. While I don't feel this deserved best film, Hollywood has always had a soft spot for big epic pieces (look at TITANIC).
Rating:
Summary: What we do in Life, goes in eternity...
Review: Politics, blood, battles, action, are just a few elements that this huge epic movie provides. It's not another Ben-Hur, it is The Gladiator. The Visual Effects and sound, are the best ones I've seen and heard. It's not only a 12 oscar nominee and 5 oscar winner including Best Picture, it is the best epic movie ever made. You are taken to Rome, into the battles, the politics and the Coliseum. This DVD is simply one of the best. The DTS Surround Sound, (for those who have a DTS Surround Sound DVD), is awsome, the movie sound effects are so good, that when you combine it with them, you really hear every single movement of the sword, just like if you were a roman having fun in the Coliseum, and for those who don't have a DTS Surround Sound DVD, the Surround Sound is still excellent. But appart from the movie and the sound, this two DVD disc set gives you the Barbarian extras. The Commentary by Ridley Scott is worth of your time, and the HBO First Look Making Of, is more than interesting. But the parts I most enjoyed were the 25 minutes of Deleted Scenes and 7 minute montage of additional unused footage extras. Althogh the movie is not as deep as it could, Joaquin Phoenix gives an excellent performance as the Cesar, and gives the sense of Politics in such a way, that you enjoy the story of power that comes between him and Maximus. The scene where Comodus confronts his father is amazing, and the Am I not Merciful? scene provides an amazing feeling of madness surrounding Comodus. The Batlle scene, the Coliseum scene and the City of Rome scene proves that Ridley Scott is one of the best directors ever. The music that the master Hans Zimmer made for the movie is shocking, and the most important thing of all, in one way or another, you enjoy the movie, the story, the music, and many other details.
Rating:
Summary: gladiator
Review: iv,e watched gladiator on dvd 4 times now and i rate it as one of the best films of it,s kind from the openening over the top battle scene to the end fight in the colosium the film was superb russel crowe deserved the oscar and so did the film the film is 10 times better on dvd than on the big screen you heard the saying they dont make them like that any more they wont make one like this again fantastic movie go buy it now
Rating:
Summary: A GREAT MOVIE
Review: I don't know what these other people were watching when they said this was just a good movie becuase when I saw Gladiator it was a GREAT movie. And the Academy of Motion Pictures must agree since it gave Gladiator 5 Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actor (Russell Crowe.) It is a great epic film with sweeping views of Rome(should have won the Cinematography Oscar over that Tiger movie), and a good storyline. The battle scenes can be a bit violent, but NOTHING like the likes of Saving Private Ryan. This is perhaps the greatest DVD in my collection, and one of my favorite films of all time. The DTS sound is incredible. The Special Features will keep you entertained for days. If you are a DVD buff, you MUST own this movie. If you just love movies you MUST own this movie. JUST BUY IT!
Rating:
Summary: Best movie I have seen in a long while.
Review: This is one of the best movies I have seen in a long while. Most of the movies out today have a pointless story line and have no meaning to them. Yet this was one of the few, that had a compelling story line combined with breath-taking action. In addition to the beatiful cinematography, music is simply amazing, thanks to Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrald for that, well done. Best Picture!
Rating: 
Summary: Good idea - bad implementation
Review: I went to see Gladiator knowing that it wouldn't be historically accurate but expecting at least a good movie. Unfortunately, the movie dragged. If it had been shorter/tightened up it would have been better. The biggest surprise and disappointment was the bad visual effects. The transitions between computer-generated images and live action were obvious and sloppy. It would have been easier to forgive the freedom with historical fact if the overall effect was better. All-in-all, I was very disappointed with the quality of the movie. Russel Crowe did a good job, as did several other actors, but they couldn't save Gladiator from mediocrity.
Rating:
Summary: Well, the chariot battle was good...
Review: Gladiator has somehow garnered adulation. It snagged the Oscar for Best Picture (no mean feat), made lots of money, and collected a reasonable share of critical acclaim. But even after watching it (twice), I steadfastly stick to my conclusion that Gladiator is not a great movie...not even a good one. Gladiator holds promise for a heroic story with a liberal dosing of medieval battles. In the end, I am left with a feeling that the film is a blatant retread of Braveheart and other more successful varieties of the "hero fighting for freedom and revenge" plot. Our hero, Maximus, spouts several turgid speeches that sound as if they were ripped directly from Braveheart, and his lack of emotional power render his recitations tepid and uninspiring. Maximus' forgettable dearth of emotionalized feeling when his family is mercilessly slaughtered is nauseating. Crowe's entire role is too halfhearted (he won Best Actor!?!?), helped little by the mimetic script. Don't even get me started on the implicit affection between Maximus and the emperor's sister, which was retch-inducingly contrived. The battle scenes are ambitious in their orchestration, but ultimately they are filmed poorly thanks to erratic camera movement that forsake clarity or the exhilarating involvement of, say, Saving Private Ryan. Admittedly, the chariot battle is stunning, with its breathless sense of urgency that the filmmakers captured here. But why didn't they do it for the rest of the movie? It doesn't help that the different battles seem like disparate events unforgivingly adhered to an existing story line to add violent physical conflict. What Maximus is fighting for becomes unclear amidst the series of battles, which lack fiery emotional intensity that SHOULD be present when someone is fighting for freedom and revenege. One area that deserves accolade is the incredible sound. All around, you can hear arrows whiz by, the cacophony of clashing steel, and anguished screams. Very impressive! And then comes the big kick in the face: the woeful anticlimax. I won't go into detail, but prepare to be disappointed. Suffice to say, Maximus becomes a martyr, but what did he accomplish? Bad, regurgitated speeches? Passionless action? Great work! Gladiator may have been a better movie if it had been thirty minutes shorter, cut out the sordid insinuations of romance, and had more chariot battles. But when you're making a big Hollywood blockbuster, you've gotta have reams of dross to guarantee it sells.
Rating: 
Summary: Russel Crowe: Actor or large brick?
Review: I went into this film with and open mind and a sense of excitement. I left however, bored and baffeled. Bored because the plot of this movie was ridiculus and insulting, but above all dull and cliche. How many times am i going to see this movie? Correct me if i am wrong but "man of power runs into bully king, becomes slave, rises back to prominence via ancient athletics" is that not the plot of Ben Hur.That was a dull movie but more compelling due to Chuck "Gunrack on my golfcart" Heston's 4 facial expressions as oposed to Mr Crowe's 2. Yes I said two, along with his time tested "angry" face good old Rus dusted off his brand new (what I like to call) "Brooding" face. If a man doesn't deserve an Oscar for being slightly less expressive than Mr Potato Head, then I don't know what he'd have to do. Another problem with this movie is that nobody had a conversation. Every charactor belted out a series of monologues in an apearent attempt to be powerful and moving. I guess i am old fassioned but when i watch and epic I expect a moving story, great acting(or over the top acting from Chuck), and movie style dialoge not this Stoner Shakespere meets Sparticus Vs Ben Hur movie i was unwittingly subjected to. ps this movie wasn't very good
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