"If you
are distressed
by anything external,
the pain is not due
to the thing itself
but to your own estimate of it;
and this you have the power
to revoke at any moment."
-Marcus Aurelius
On my last birthday, a good friend of mine gave me a nifty Dr. Seuss book and a birthday card. Inside the card, she wrote the above quote, along with "happy birthday" and all that. I loved the quote, but I'd never heard of Marcus Aurelius before. In watching "Gladiator," I finally got to find out who he was. It was such a relief!
Okay. On with the review.
"Gladiator" is the latest beautiful looking film from director Ridley Scott. Few have mastered the dark look in movies like Ridley. Past flicks include "G.I. Jane," "Black Rain," "Legend," the original "Alien," and the masterpiece (in look, not necessarily in story) "Blade Runner." He's got the toughest job in Hollywood right now, being that he's directing "Hannibal," the controversial sequel to "The Silence of the Lambs." With "Gladiator," Ridley Scott proves that he's one of the most skilled directors in the business, even when he's working with an average script.
In his first top-billing role in an American film, Russell Crowe proves that he's got what it takes to be a major Hollywood film star. He's got the charisma, he's got the look, and he's certainly got the talent. I remember seeing him in a small Australian film years ago called "Romper Stomper." Though his incredible talent was evident back then, I never expected him to be as big as he's gotten in the U.S., and he truly deserves it. Along with Crowe (that's a cool last name, innit?), "Gladiator" also features Joaquin Phoenix (yes, brother of the late River Phoenix... he was in "SpaceCamp" and "Parenthood" years ago when he was still considered a child actor, but he used the name "Leaf Phoenix" back then... now that he's all grown up, his name is Joaquin Phoenix, and he's had prominent roles in "8mm," "Clay Pigeons," "Return to Paradise," and "U-Turn"). Joaquin has been in a lotta movies in the last few years, but his performance in "Gladiator" is head and shoulders above the rest. He's excellent, exuding the same kinda thing that Malcolm McDowell did when he played the title character in "Caligula." By the way, for all you horny little boys out there, check out the "Complete, Unedited, and Unrated Edition" of "Caligula." It's practically a porno. Seriously. I mean, in addition to Malcolm McDowell, it has other serious actors like John Gielgud, Peter O' Toole, and Helen Mirren. All those serious actors, and it's got scenes of hardcore porn. Weird.
Anyway...
"Gladiator" also has Connie Nielson (she was the sexy redhead trying to steal Keanu Reeves from his wife in "Devil's Advocate"), Djimon Hounsou (he was the awesome talent who caught everyone's attention in "Amistad"), Derek Jacobi (anyone who saw "I, Claudius" knows who HE is), and the living legend, Richard Harris. With the cast in this movie, I could never complain about the acting.
But then there's the script. It was written by David H. Franzoni ("Amistad" and "Jumpin' Jack Flash"), John Logan ("Any Given Sunday," "Bats"), and William Nicholson ("First Knight" and "Nell"). Their past efforts were hit and miss, and this script is just average. It has great moments, but the ending is way too Hollywood, too contrived. I understand that the hero and villain need to have it out at the end, but it wasn't logical. It simply wouldn't have happened that way.
I spent much of this review fawning all over Ridley Scott, but his work here isn't flawless. For example, the battle scenes are too chaotic, to the point where you can't really tell what's going on. Still, it's exciting stuff, and he really knows how to build momentum. And despite a running time of 2 1/2 hours, I wasn't bored for a second.
"Gladiator"
is another gorgeous movie from the great Ridley Scott, and it also happens
to showcase great work from Russell Crowe. This movie isn't perfect, but
it's pretty goshdarn fun. I'd love to see Ridley work off of a great script,
though. Who knows, maybe "Hannibal"
is that script. I hope so. I'm keeping an open mind.
Scale of 1-10: 8