You know it's summer when the big spectacle movies come lurching into the theaters, and nothing describes "spectacle" better than a movie featuring gladiators. This, I assume, is why someone decided the film Gladiator was a good idea.

The whole concept of Roman spectacle movies hasn't been touched in far too long. From Cleopatra to Ben Hur, these epic films revel in their own overdone production values. It's as if the movies aren't trying to recreate Rome, but actually outdo the worst of that nation's gaudy splendor. Plus, these films provide the odd thrill of seeing various Hollywood types running around in togas or whatever other goofy costume the wardrobe department can dream up. These are the films for which the terms "a cast of thousands" was coined. When done properly these puffed up antiquity airbags are a gigantic hoot. So does Gladiator fill the sandals of these previous efforts? It certainly has it's heart in the right place. Realizing that death matches aren't good material for a date movie, this flick is aimed strictly at the male crowd [while waiting to see the movie I wondered if there were any women in line with me.] But while Gladiator aims to be Spartacus, it comes across more like Jason and the Argonauts.

Russell Crowe is entertaining as the main character with the unsubtle name of Maximus. As Maximus, Crowe manages the neat trick of keeping the viewer's attention focused on him even when the screen is filled with chaos, manages to strut around in various suits of rubbery looking armor without looking self-conscious, and confidently mumbles his lines with some sort of odd, British accent. This seems appropriate since, according to the movies, Rome was peopled with British stage actors. Rounding out the cast was Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus, the new Roman Emperor and Maximus' sniveling nemesis, the late Olver Reed as the late gladiator trainer, and Connie Nielsen as the token female character.

The plot seemed to concern Maximus being done wrong by Commodus, getting rather easily tossed into slavery, and then working his way up to become the best gosh darn gladiator around in order to for him to somehow or other get revenge. A straight ahead revenge story is, really, all the plot Gladiator needed. But instead of making the movie a lean, mean gladiating machine, the story is bogged down with inane dialogue, sub plots that nobody cares about, and a mistaken belief that slow moving equals stately. It's been reported that the film was being shot while the script was being written. While this may explain things such as the anti-climatic and laughable ending, it doesn't make it any more enjoyable.

The movie only comes alive when death is involved. From the opening battle in Germania to the blood sports later on, the fights are frantic, gory, and great fun. With Maximus pitted against everything from racing chariots, big, oily guys wearing what appear to be helmets borrowed from John Boorman's Excalibur, and pits full of tigers -all while thousands of spectators cheer him on- the movie finally lives up to it's title. There's no real sense of morality at play during these scenes of sped up footage, frantic editing, and improbable geysers of blood, instead the audience is supposed to get as much entertainment from the violence as the Romans rabble who were applauding the carnage. While there's nothing wrong with enjoying the fantastic action of a film for what it is, there is something embarrassing about stating you liked a movie because it was violent if you're over 12 years old.

While Gladiator aspires to be an epic, it has more in common with Malcom McDowell's insane sex-fest Caligula. Both claim to be something they're not, both are too long, and the only reason anyone watches them is for the action, be the action sex or violence. Plus, both movies prove that no matter what age you're living in, people will always be entertained by the same two things.

We who are about to die salute you by e-mailing gleep9@hotmail.com. If you're done here shake your toga on back to either the Second Movie or Main page.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page