'Gladiator' review by Jake Boyle
Fox have just released Exodus: Gods And Kings, Ridley Scott's new grand-scale, blood-brothers at war historical action-drama. The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed that this is not a review of that film. This is because it looks like trash. Glossy, fancy trash with Aaron Paul admittedly, but trash nonetheless. The buzz (or lack thereof) around the film also suggests this, so rather than risk the waste of time and money, I watched the film that filled all those same criteria, but apparently is, you know, good.
In terms of epicness, Gladiator certainly hits it target, arguably even giving Peter Jackson a run for his money (which is saying something, because he has a lot of it). The Colosseum is shot to look imposingly monolithic and the occasional long shots of landscapes are a beauty to behold. The overtly grandiose cinematography does break immersion to some degree, but it definitely does establish the ostentatious tone Scott was aiming for. This lofty atmosphere is grounded by some nicely balanced characters; despite being typically honour-bound and stoic, Russell Crowe's warrior hero is a gentle and thoughtful man who stares wistfully at passing robins and simply wishes to go home and tend to his crops. This humbleness and restraint doesn't give Crowe many opportunities to flex his acting muscles (although his regular ones are perfectly utilised) but his performance is wholly capable throughout. Joaquin Phoenix's villainous emperor is also pleasantly atypical, maintaining the necessary level of sinister whilst being wholly petulant and insecure. These are not traits easily spun into an interesting character, let alone a convincingly threatening one, but Phoenix's performance is both so nuanced and so intense that he manages to be both pitiful and intimidating.
In terms of epicness, Gladiator certainly hits it target, arguably even giving Peter Jackson a run for his money (which is saying something, because he has a lot of it). The Colosseum is shot to look imposingly monolithic and the occasional long shots of landscapes are a beauty to behold. The overtly grandiose cinematography does break immersion to some degree, but it definitely does establish the ostentatious tone Scott was aiming for. This lofty atmosphere is grounded by some nicely balanced characters; despite being typically honour-bound and stoic, Russell Crowe's warrior hero is a gentle and thoughtful man who stares wistfully at passing robins and simply wishes to go home and tend to his crops. This humbleness and restraint doesn't give Crowe many opportunities to flex his acting muscles (although his regular ones are perfectly utilised) but his performance is wholly capable throughout. Joaquin Phoenix's villainous emperor is also pleasantly atypical, maintaining the necessary level of sinister whilst being wholly petulant and insecure. These are not traits easily spun into an interesting character, let alone a convincingly threatening one, but Phoenix's performance is both so nuanced and so intense that he manages to be both pitiful and intimidating.
It's this sense of grandness offset by realism that really makes Gladiator tick - spectacular fight scenes followed by grim depictions of casualties; loud roars and frenzied movement preceding quiet scenes of tension. It allows Scott to have the best of both worlds, mixing intricacy and extravagance. However, this at times clashes with the will of the story, which wants to make Maximus as heroic as humanly possible. In order to heighten his valiance, characters make senseless decisions just so Maximus can then overcome his obstacles in a way that looks cooler and has a stronger symbolic resonance. However, the exaggeration that this leads to feels more than faintly ridiculous, especially in the film's fairly trite ending, which upsets the equilibrium of style and substance that had previously been so expertly maintained. This isn't the only issue - dialogue remains unremarkable throughout the film, it's longer than it needs to be and Hans Zimmer's score is incredibly generic - but it's certainly the most frustrating one.
For the most part, Gladiator is a highly enjoyable film that manages to deliver both action and drama in a very precise and well-conceived manner. Occasionally things tip over into the melodramatic or just plain silly, but it's never to any major detriment and the film remains exciting even when it temporarily loses its intelligence. Some strong lead performances from Crowe, Richard Harris and especially Phoenix, and highly polished set-pieces are the highlights in a good film that could have been great with a little more fine tuning.
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