Gladiator (2000)

By the turn of the millennium, the big-budget historical epic had been largely absent from mainstream cinema for the better part of three decades. Gladiator, released in 2000 and co-produced by Universal Pictures alongside Scott Free Productions and Red Wagon Entertainment, changed all of that. Set in the twilight years of the Roman Empire, the film follows Maximus Decimus Meridius, a decorated general who finds himself stripped of everything he holds dear when the emperor's scheming son seizes power. What begins as a story of political betrayal becomes something rawer and more personal as Maximus is forced into the blood and sand of the gladiatorial arena. The film arrived at a time when audiences were perhaps ready for something operatic and unashamedly old-fashioned, and it clearly struck a nerve.

At the helm was Ridley Scott, a director with a well-established reputation for visual ambition and a gift for world-building on a grand scale. Those who have read my thoughts on Alien or Prometheus will know he is a filmmaker capable of creating environments that feel genuinely inhabited, and Gladiator is no different in that regard. Ancient Rome here is a place of dust, marble, and barely contained violence, rendered with considerable craft by Scott and his production team. The script, which went through several writers and was reportedly in a state of flux well into production (Reed, famously, died before filming was complete, requiring some creative post-production work to finish his scenes), is polished but unremarkable on the page. It is the direction and the performances that carry the weight. Russell Crowe, who was already earning serious attention following L.A. Confidential, takes the lead as Maximus, a role built around honour, loss, and a certain quiet fury. Opposite him, Joaquin Phoenix plays the Emperor Commodus, a character written as petty and unstable in equal measure. Oliver Reed, in one of his final screen appearances, takes the role of Proximo, a former gladiator turned promoter, bringing weathered authority to every scene he occupies. Connie Nielsen and Richard Harris round out a cast that, on paper at least, looks about as solid as they come for this kind of historical drama, running to a considerable 155 minutes.

Ridley Scott’s Gladiator is a sweeping, blood-soaked epic that still hits hard. Joaquin Phoenix steals the show as the twitchy, insecure Commodus. He’s incredible, all bottled rage and fragile ego, and Oliver Reed, in his final roles, brings real gravitas as the grizzled general Proximo. Their performances elevate the film far beyond your standard revenge flick. Russell Crowe is solid as Maximus, the noble warrior turned slave turned gladiator, though the role leans a bit on stoic grunting and dreamy flashbacks to his farm. The film looks stunning, ancient Rome brought to life with grime and grand spectacle. The battle scenes are brutal and immersive, and the Colosseum sequences have real weight and chaos. Even if they are historically inaccurate. Hans Zimmer’s main theme is iconic, pure goosebump material. But… there’s that one other theme, the soaring, swashbuckling melody that sounds exactly like Pirates of the Caribbean. It sticks out like a sore thumb now, pulling you right out of 2nd-century Rome and into the Caribbean. Hard to believe it came first, but still, it’s distracting. At two and a half hours, the film drags in places. The revenge plot loops a bit, the flashbacks repeat, and the momentum stutters between arena fights. It’s powerful, yes, and undeniably entertaining, but could’ve lost 40 minutes and gained some pace. Still, it’s a modern classic with real heart, grit, and unforgettable performances. Epic in scale, just a little bloated in execution.

I keep coming back to the performances as the thing that makes this one linger. Phoenix and Reed in particular are doing something special, and the film would be a considerably thinner experience without them. The score question is one I have never quite resolved, either: Hans Zimmer's central theme is the kind of thing that gets under your skin whether you like it or not, but I know exactly what Scott means about that other melody pulling you sideways. It is the sort of thing you cannot unhear once you have noticed it. Gladiator is, in the end, a film that earns its reputation largely on spectacle and on the strength of a few extraordinary turns, even if it could do with a sharper editor and a bit more trust in the audience. Grand in every sense, but not quite as tight as it thinks it is.

Rating: ★★★★  | Year: 2000  | Watched: 2025-08-31

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Trailer

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Related on Movies With Macca

More from Ridley Scott: Black Hawk Down (2001) · Prometheus (2012) · Alien (1979) · Alien: Covenant (2017)
More with Russell Crowe: A Beautiful Mind (2001) · Virtuosity (1995) · The Nice Guys (2016) · L.A. Confidential (1997)
More from United Kingdom: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · The Curse of Frankenstein (1957) · Blue (1993)
More from the 2000s: Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004) · Daredevil (2003) · Apocalypto (2006)
More action: A Better Tomorrow (1986) · The General (1926) · Hand of Death (1976) · Daredevil (2003)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)