He Came, He Saw, He Kicked Rome's Ass
by Sasha Stone

It is ironic that audiences are lining up to see Gladiator for the same reasons the Romans lined up at the Coliseum: to see the violence.

Sure, there are more noble reasons to line up - there's the film's computer-generated graphics, the cornerstone of turn-of-the-millennium cinema, and there's the film's director, Ridley Scott, who is on his game after a few missteps of late. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, there's Russell Crowe, who's peeled off his Jeffrey Wigand fat like a block of marble at the hands of Michelangelo to emerge a bonafide star.

Russell Crowe plays Maximus, a Spanish general, who possesses the super-human fighting ability of Rambo and the glorious beauty of a Mediterranean sunset (icy blue eyes contrasting with earthy skin, to say nothing of chiseled biceps and taut thighs). Maximum kicks barbarian ass in the first ten minutes of the film, in a splendidly-choreographed battle sequence much like Saving Private Ryan's opener, only sans contextual sentiment. The Emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris), is so taken with Maximus' leadership qualities that he decides to hand over the thrown to him instead of his own son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix).

Commodus, a cowardly villain, will take the thrown by force if daddy won't let him have it, so in an oedipal rage, he kills his father and becomes Emperor of Rome. He offers Maximus a spot on his staff but is rejected, so Commodus sends him out to the woods to be killed.

But of course, Maximus manages to escape; only to find his much beloved wife and son have been murdered at the hands of Commodus. He is then picked up by slave traders who turn him into The Spaniard. At first Maximus is reluctant to fight - having lost the will to live, he seeks only to meet his family in Heaven.

However, another seed begins to sprout in his mind. The chance to one day meet Commodus and avenge the death of his family and the death of his beloved Emperor, Marcus Aurelius.

Maximus is then transformed into a god-like fighting machine, living up to the Roman (an American) ideal. For audience ravenous for ass-kicking, he fills all of our expectations of who and what an action star should be.

There's only one problem. Smack in the middle, the film changes direction, losing the momentum built up from the first hour and spiraling downward into an overly long, overly talky bore. Who wants to think about things like the Republic, the "idea of Rome," justice, humanity and compassion when there's a gladiator like Russell Crowe waiting in the wings to kick serious butt?

So, it seems a contradiction, even a judgment, on the audience that the film condemns exactly what the audience is craving; that we are, in essence, no better than the people of Rome because we just want to skip the boring parts and get back to the bloodshed. It doesn't matter whether it's real or not - it seems real and that's what counts.

Still, there's that first hour, and there are some spectacular fight sequences that shatter expectations and make Gladiator, ultimately, memorable. And, again, there's Russell Crowe.

Crowe's Maximus is yet another brooding protagonist upon which Ridley Scott loves to meditate - Sigourney Weaver in Alien, Harrison Ford in Bladerunner, Susan Sarandon in Thelma & Louise and even Demi Moore in G.I. Jane. All have secrets they will never share, all are running from demons that drive them toward heroism and self-destruction at the same time. Crowe's talent is in his ability to hold back more than he gives, and this makes him compelling to watch.

Indeed, it takes the great acting of Crowe, and of supporting player, Oliver Reed (who died during filming) to breathe life into the film's most glaring flaw: its screenplay. Written by David Franzoni (the awful Amistad), John Logan (Any Given Sunday) and William Nicholson, it has that agonizing feel of having had too many writers who want to take it in too many directions.

Gladiator fails and succeeds simultaneously, much like Jim Cameron's waterlogged epic, Titanic. You've got bad dialogue, extraneous storylines, and cliched characters, but on the other hand, you've also got mind-blowing special effects, a great big gorgeous star and a hell of a set piece. Both films take your breath away, even while you bite your fist to keep from laughing.

CineScene, 2000