Gladiator Review

Gladiator (2000)
Classic Movies

5/5

Hands down, the most accurate portrayal of Ancient Rome, and for that reason, will especially be appreciated by the history buffs

The 2000 film “Gladiator,” directed by Ridley Scott, is about Maximus Decimus Meridius, a general who becomes imprisoned and forced to fight as a gladiator. After the unexpected death of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, Marcus’s son Commodus becomes the new emperor. When Maximus gains popularity and recognition from his victories in the games, Commodus fears that Maximus could use this power to possibly overthrow him. Maximus continues to use his fame as a gladiator to cause damage to Commodus's power and control, but only to inspire the Roman people in such a way that will help them rediscover what was lost as a result of the cruelty and corruption in Rome. This causes Commodus to fight Maximus in the Coliseum at the end of the movie.
Compared to other portrayals of ancient Rome, this movie captures it through a very realistic lens. The most notable aspect was the enormous coliseum where many of the close-up battles take place in. After the battles are over, there are grand views of the space, which, must have been done in CGI to give the viewer a greater sense of how big the actual coliseum might’ve looked like.

After researching many of the Roman marble and bronze busts, it was interesting seeing Marcus Aurelius portrayed as an older man in the film. Actor Russell Crowe efficiently plays the brooding gladiator Maximus quite well while Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix, is menacing and unlikeable. The two strikingly different personalities make for an interesting face-to-face confrontation at the end of the film.

A stifling encounter between Commodus (Jaoquin Pheonix) and Maximius (Russel Crowe)

Certainly, a well-executed feature-length film that tries to stay historically accurate as possible to Ancient Rome is a challenging and ambitious project for any filmmaker, considering the limited amount of documentation there is to work from. When writing a detailed script, some things have to be exaggerated for historical, and as well as for entertainment purposes. For instance, scholars don’t believe that Commodus was killed in battle by a gladiator, but this modification certainly made for a climactic scene at the end. Scott obviously took a unique approach by staying as true as possible to what happened while also putting emphasis on the engaging battle sequences within the coliseum. My favorite aspect of it was identifying the different body armor and weapons each character used; one in particular was the lorica segmentata—segmented body armor which Crowe wore for the majority of the film.

My 3-d segmented body armor compared with Maximius's segmented body armor

My 3-d model of the lorica segmentata.

Image of Maximius wearing the segmented body armor.

There have been many attempts in trying to portray Ancient Rome on screen, but none come close to the quality and consistency of “Gladiator.” It’s an exhilarating film that will appeal mostly towards action fans, and especially those who are quite familiar with the history of Ancient Rome.