When a Roman general is betrayed and his family murdered by
an emperor's corrupt son, he comes to Rome
as a gladiator to seek revenge.
Director: Ridley
Scott
Writers: David Franzoni
Story : David Franzoni (screenplay) |
Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen
Storyline
Maximus is a powerful Roman general, loved by the people and
the aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Before his death, the Emperor chooses
Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus, and a power struggle leaves
Maximus and his family condemned to death. The powerful general is unable to
save his family, and his loss of will allows him to get captured and put into
the Gladiator games until he dies. The only desire that fuels him now is the
chance to rise to the top so that he will be able to look into the eyes of the
man who will feel his revenge.
User Reviews
An intense Roman epic, a la "Ben-Hur" or
"Spartacus," it was nice to see something like this made again. It
had been since the 1960s that we had seen a 3-hour extravaganza like this.
Like Ben-Hur, this is a story of a successful man who loses
everything thanks to an evil man, and then has to fight his way back up to seek
revenge on that man and to obtain his freedom back. It's a tried-and-true
formula. This movie doesn't go to excess on the violence as some of the other
more recent epic films did, such as "Braveheart" or "The
Patriot."
The acting is excellent, beginning with Russell Crowe, who
has established himself as one of the best actors of today. Joaquin Phoenix
also put himself "on the map" as an actor with his portrayal of the
evil "Commodus." He's so annoying you want to slap that sucker, which
means he's doing a good job acting. Kudos to the rest of the cast, too.
Too bad they don't make more of these type of films, as they
did in the 1950s and 1960s.