The film
basically starts by showing how successful and popular Maximus is as the
general of the Roman armies of the North. He is loved by the Emperor as a son,
and this prompts his actual son to get jealous. When Commodus murders the
Emperor, Maximus is outlawed because he would be too dangerous a threat to
Commodus. Maximus survives the attempt on his life and discovers that his wife
and son have been killed by the new Emperor and is captured by Proximus to be
entered as a Gladiator in a series of competitions. He fights his way through
these contests and up to the Colosseum where he wins the hearts of the Roman
public and eventually kills the Emperor, dying shortly afterwards.
The plot is very
good. While it’s not full of twists and shocking moments, it’s not predictable
and this is good. Additionally, in terms of CGI, it’s very good. The creation
of Ancient Rome is wonderful and makes this portion of the film completely
believable. The script is well written and the cast is well chosen. However, as
with many historical films there are some problems. Granted, cinematic license
is a consideration, and changing the way that Marucs Aurelius died (from plague
to murder) just sets up the story. However it’s the simple things that give
rise to my issues. The name ‘Maximus Decimus Meridius’ does not reflect Roman
names at the time. Some changes are made for cinematic license, yes, but in
some cases, directors need to listen to their researchers and reflect the times
that the film is set in. However, it is a deserving Academy Award winner for
Best Picture beating some fantastic films.
The soundtrack is
hilarious though. I think watching ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ before I saw
Gladiator was a mistake, and as soon as it was pointed out to me that Hans
Zimmer had written the scores for both films the Gladiator music sounded
exactly like the theme to Pirates. Obviously the piece is Hans Zimmer’s
production, but he could be a bit more creative than just slightly re-hashing
one piece for another set of films.
Now I don’t
actually like Russell Crowe in this film. Actually, I can’t stand him as an
actor. I only really like him in ‘A Beautiful Mind’, and most of the time I
just find him wooden and sullen. In both Robin Hood and Gladiator I think that
he struts around in armour, delivering his lines with shocking two-dimensionality
and no depth to most of his characters. His character is exceptionally likable
in Gladiator, but in my opinion he is not. The classic scene, where he reveals
himself to Commodus in the arena, and where he is fighting Commodus at the end,
are the only two examples of where I like Russell Crowe’s performance. I’m not
sure how Russell Crowe won the Best Actor Academy Award for this role, and can
only assume that every other leading actor in this year just didn’t perform at
all.
Joaquin Phoenix
is a brilliant villain here. He is brilliantly sinister and ever so slightly
creepy, and for me is the stand out performance of the film. He manages to
portray the twisted, jealous and ambitious Commodus with absolutely precision.
Unlike Crowe, his character seems to have layers and different aspects to it.
He is a power hungry man who just wants to have Rome under his control. This is
perfectly reflected in his stabbing of Maximus before their fight: an underhand
move designed to make him succeed in front of all of Rome, quashing their
little rebellion against his power.
No comments:
Post a Comment