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Movius
Maximus
by Spencer
Ross
Drawing the line between martyrdom
and heroism is what makes Ridley Scott's Roman
epic, Gladiator, such a powerful and moving movie. Using
some computer generated shots as
well as a cast of extremely talented actors, Scott beautifully
creates a fictional story that shows
the start of Rome's eventual downfall. I don't know too much
about the history of Rome, but I
didn't need to in order to enjoy this five star movie. Despite
all the action and bloodshed, the
humanistic issues are what bring this movie above any Hollywood
anti-hype it would otherwise
get.
Gladiator starts off with
Maximus (Russell Crowe) as the Roman Legion general
commanding victory over the Germanians. "At my signal,
unleash hell," he shouts. After his
victory, Maximus is requested to see the Emperor, Marcus Aurelius
(Richard Harris), historically
known as the last of the great Roman emperors. Aurelius knows he
is a dying man and at the
end of his reign, wants his most trusted soldier, Maximus, to
restore the glory of "the dream called
Rome;" to rid the empire of its corruption. Commodus
(Joaquin Phoenix) finds out about that he
is not the heir to the empire and, upset, strangles his father,
assuming the title of Emperor for
himself. He wants Maximus executed. When Maximus is taken to the
woods to be slain, he
escapes and kills his executioners, taking the horses and riding
all the way home.
He arrives home to find his son
killed and his wife raped and killed by the Roman
soldiers. Maximus falls to his knees and weeps, but is taken
captive to the desert by Proximo
(the late Oliver Reed). Proximo used to be a gladiator in the
Colosseum, but was later made a
free man by Marcus Aurelius (which has later implications on the
dynamics between Proximo and
Maximus). Now it is Maximus that has become the gladiator and in
his great victories in the ring,
he is able to "win the crowd" (as Proximo puts it).
Djimon Hounsou plays Juba, another captured
gladiator, who consoles Maximus in his great losses by telling
him that they'll see each other in
the afterlife, but "not yet." Thus, Maximus knows he
cannot let himself be defeated and in all his
battles, he continues to win, defeating even the undefeated under
the added pressure of
pouncing tigers. Eventually, Maximus fights under Emperor
Commodus' watch and, trying to
"honor the wishes of a man's dying words," he is not
killed. Eventually, he meets his match when
he is forced to fight the emperor himself.
There wasn't much to this movie
that I didn't like. Graphically, there were some great
matte scenes of the city and the bird's-eye view of the opening
battles added to the war-like feel
of the movie (however this scene reminded me a little too much of
the Gungans- Droids scene in
Phantom Menace). All the gladiator battle sequences were
great- brilliantly choreographed and
superb in cinematography. The shots were rapid fire, not allowing
the viewer to focus on any one
image for an extensive amount of time, but slowing down before
the victory. Thus, the movie felt
like it was more action packed, albeit bloody. The themes of the
movie, "Strength and Honor,"
were always in my mind and reinforced the concept of the tragic
heroism of Maximus. Maximus
wouldn't be a martyr, nor would Commodus have him that way, so
the element of tragic heroism
overshadows the movie. Because of this feeling and the intense
acting that Russell Crowe puts
into his character, the closing scene was extremely moving,
almost bringing tears to my eyes.
Adding to the emotion is excellent scoring by Klaus Badelt, Lisa
Gerrard, and Hans Zimmer. The
classical music gives movement to the slow scenes as well as the
fast paced battles, yet doesn't
detract from the story itself. Maximus deals with human issues
such as death, honesty and trust,
and loyalty to a cause he believed in. Gladiator was
probably one of the best movies I've seen in
a while and although it is rather gory with several heads getting
sliced off and a lot of bloodshed,
the movie as a whole comes through as something that is
definitely worthwhile seeing. It
probably wouldn't surprise me if some Oscar nominations are given
to this movie, either to Crowe
or Phoenix, but that won't be for another year. Definitely a
must-see movie.
Time:150 minutes; Rated R.
5/7/00
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