"Gladiator" is the bloodiest, nauseating, dullest and most old-fashioned gladiator flick in ages - a big thud in director Ridley Scott's career. It is beautifully shot and appropriately murky but also hopelessly, terminally monotonous.
The indefatigable Russell Crowe stars as the stoic Spanish-born Maximus, general of a Roman army, who in the film's brutal opening sequence, lavishes an attack against multitudes of barbarians - his command is "Unleash hell." That phrase sums up the film in a nutshell.
Later, Maximus is praised by Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris - looking more haggard and drunk than ever) for vanquishing the enemy. The dying Emperor also wants Maximus to succeed him, which causes dissent from the Emperor's devious son, Commodus (Joaquim Phoenix). It is no surprise that Commodus, a weakling who has never seen the gruesome reality of war, kills his father and almost has Maximus killed and guess who becomes the new Emperor?
After Maximus escapes, he is sold as a slave and prepared for death as a gladiator by Proximo (Oliver Reed), a supplier and instructor of gladiators who has seen all kinds of savagery in his heyday. Maximus survives several battles to the death, enough to go to the paramount level - the Colosseum where Commodus is often seen in attendance. Dispensing one of the few clever notions in the screenplay, the Colosseum recreates famous battles yet Maximus ends up beating the odds, to the enormous applause from the audiences who love this kind of spectacle.
"Gladiator" is at heart a revenge story since Maximus wants to kill Commodus for having killed his family and all his friends. But Maximus embodies lots of grunts and excessive moroseness - none of this merits much in the way of empathy or sympathy. His Maximus is a study in complete stoicism from beginning to end but there is not much beyond that - Crowe, an excellent actor, offers no hints of humanity, only vigor. I may be bold for saying this but even Schwarzeneger's Conan had a sense of humor in between his vicious sword-wielding moments.
The action scenes are another problem. In this age of super MTV-split-second edits, the battle scenes in the Colosseum and in the opening sequence are cut so frantically and with such headache-inducing movement that it is difficult to tell what is happening on screen. I suppose director Ridley Scott considers this an experimental approach post-"Saving Private Ryan" but at least in "Ryan," you had some clue as to what was occuring from one shot to the next (both films are from the company Dreamworks). The similarly old-fashioned, silly "Spartacus" was also cohesively shot and edited so that you never lost sight of who was killing whom. Here it is all a jumbled collage of rapid movements causing headaches more than excitement.
"Gladiator" has some decent performances, the best of which is the intense presence of the late Oliver Reed, but the film meanders at such a languid pace that it is often to difficult to stay awake while watching it. Its joyless, somber tone and thin characters makes it a chore to sit through. This may be the first summer blockbuster for the year 2000 but the outlook is not too promising.
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