Powerful, Herculean Filmmaking

Gladiator Dir: Ridley Scott Starring Russell Crowe Joaquin Phoenix Connie Nielsen Spencer Treat Clark 2000 R, 154 m RATING: 9 out of 10

"It's my turn to steal this scene!"  Joaquin Phoenix and Russel Crowe show off their acting abilties in Scott's powerful Gladiator.

Director Ridley Scott's Gladiator is a stunning, powerful epic that boasts some fantastic visuals, a solid story, deep characters, intense fight sequences, and bravura performances, making it very likely to grabe a few Oscar nominations.  At the least, it's certainly the most entertaining film of the 2000 summer. Russel Crowe stars as General Maximus, devoted to the glory of Rome and a successful military man.  When the dying Emperor decides to appoint Maximus as his successor, scheming Prince Commodus (a brilliant Joaquin Phoenix) decides to do whatever it takes to assure he will be the next Caeasar.  Maximus escapes his clutches, but then returns to Rome as a gladiator and wants to extract revenger from the evil emperor. As Maximus, Russel Crowe shows he is not only a great actor, but a star.  Gladiator virutally secure his stature as a leading man.  His performances as Maximus is strong and emotional.  Though his acting was proven when he played Bud White in Curtos Hanson's atmospheric LA Confidential, Gladiator proves he can carry a film as a major star.  His character is also not a cardboard cutout and shows depth: the writers, thankfully, don't make Maxmius a macho, indestructible killing machine and instead shows sensitivty, devotion, power, and strength. Thankfully, the writers do not forget the villanious counterpart and also give Emperor Commodus depth, replacing what could be the usual out-and-out tyrant character with  a tragic, weak, and ultimately inept ruler.  Joaquin Pheonix is brilliant as Commodus, in some scenes evoking puty for his character only to becom reviling in the next.  While Gladiator can be seen as a star vehicle for Crowe, it can also be seen as a display of the fantastic talent Pheonix has.  His controlled, calculated performance is effectively cring-inducing. Director Ridley Scott not only gets great performances from the entire cast, but the visual effects employed are equally stunning.  The magnificent views of Rome, the towering, hulking Colloseum, the brutal, striking battle scenes, and intricate costumes are all used to immerse the viewer in the spectacle that waws one Rome.  While the story may drag in a few places, the overall power of Gladiator is not muted one bit thanks to Scott's masterful helming of this entertaing, flexing film.

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