Hey folks, Gladiator Harry here with a look at GLADIATOR from AICN regular... The Juice. He's in the same boat as Moriarty in calling this Ridley Scott's best film ever. Personally, I still love BLADE RUNNER more, but I do like GLADIATOR more than ALIEN. And... of course I've only seen GLADIATOR once, and I've had nearly twenty years to love BLADE RUNNER. Maybe in time. We'll see. GLADIATOR however does kick ass like very few films have ever kicked ass. Enjoy The Juice...
Head Geek,
saw Gladiator (can you say infiltration?) some time ago, but there were so many reviews out on it, I thought I would sit back awhile to send in mine. I can't contain myself anymore. I must get my feelings out into the wild, and what better than the geek capitol of the world...
...It begins calmly enough...
A field, a warn and aged hand, caressing the tall ends of the fully grown wheat. A gentle and composed hum radiates from the background.
Get your rest now cause you won't have a single moment of it later. We all know Dreamworks is on fire after sweeping the Oscars with American Beauty and the young studio has a chance to dominate the box-office as well as have an Oscar contender in Gladiator.
Director Ridley Scott hasn't been this brilliant ever in his career...well I suppose classic thrillers such as Alien and Blade Runner come close but (in my humble opinion) this is his most complete/brilliant/and exciting film yet!
We are quickly introduced to Maximus a General in Ancient Rome and under direct command from an aging Caesar. Maximus is the man, Russel Crowe, an amazing actor. It has become a cliche merely from reviews of this flick, but he is set to become a huge star upon this film's release. Crowe deserved best actor in his role of the Insider but lost to an equally deserving Kevin Spacey. Maximus lets us know right away that simply put, he is one of the coolest characters in motion picture history. His deep and smooth voice, his scruffy beard, his stare, and charisma are uncanny. I am at this moment developing a religon based around Maximus, much like I did a few years back around former bad ass of the world William Wallace...move over William Wallace, Mel Gibson's Braveheart has no battle scene that can hold a candle to any of Gladiator's pit fighting sequences.
The crowd in the film falls in love with Maximus, chanting his name over and over again. Soon the audience in the theater caught on, I could not help but screaming Maximus' name myself. I was gleaming for joy as our Roman hero impales 10 villains a time with a mere Roman short-sword. Scary enough, my girlfriend who tends to shun violence screamed in joy at every decapitation, we were all captivated by the moment.
"I am not your entertainment" cries Maximus ha, what a crock of...
But the movie is not all blood and guts. It is a romantic tale of love and revenge. Maximus finds himself fighting for Rome and vowing to kill the new Caesar who has betrayed him.
The scores are good enough, but they don't stand out in my mind as a particular strong point. Meaning I didn't notice it to be good or bad, which I suppose could in fact be a bad thing. But who cares. From the burnt battle-field in the beginning to the CGI re-birth of the colesium, Scott chooses his shooting locations with the expertise only a director of his calibur could. The casting is dead on, not a single part is mis-cast. Russel Crowe was born to play this role, and this movie was born to be the first amazing piece of the new millenium. And yes, Jaquin Phoenix escapes the shadow of his older deceased brother River once and for all. Jaquin plays the evil Casaer Commedus and his performance is commendable.
So many good things should come from this film. Dreamworks will get the mega-hit they deserve (I look for it to make well over the 200 million mark when it is released in May). If it follows the footsteps of Braveheart it could possibly garner best picture and best director nods, and undoubtedly Russel Crowe will become as big a name as Tom Cruise or Mel Gibson. But you guys all know this by now
Gladiator truly is a brilliant work. It is the way a blockbuster movie should be made. There is a soul behind the amazing special effects and the vengeful hero. The heavy violence may deter some audiences but I assure you I will see the film the day it opens again and many times after that. Gladiator is destined to be a timeless classic.
I guess I'll re-cap with this: I love summer flicks, the scary thing is that after seeing Gladiator, I'm not anticipating, The Patriot, MI:2, or even X-Men as much as I wait in sheer joy to see Gladiator, again and again and again...
Hail Maximus (oh yes, and Head Geek)!
The Juice
