Gladiator (2000)

Gladiator

• I gotta be honest, this was quite disappointing. Not horrible, just disappointing. I feel like I can easily pinpoint why, but I’m also confused why. There were many scenes that I really enjoyed, such as all the fighting, or dialogue between certain characters. However, in between those scenes, I was struggling to pay attention. For me, a huge chunk of the movie was straight up boring. It just went on and on and on. My mind kept drifting off. Now, I do believe that this movie was pretty well made, and Ridley Scott definitely delivers a well crafted movie. It just wasn’t for me. The story was interesting, though I got lost in several spots (mostly because half the time I forgot to actually pay attention). The characters were pretty good, and both Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix delivered fantastic performances. Personally, Joaquin was the highlight of the movie, despite the awesome mission of vengeance that Maximus takes. I’m just very biased because I really, really like Joaquin. Putting characters aside, the action scenes were easily the best thing about the movie. The opening battle was thrilling, and all the gladiator fights were super exciting. Well shot and visually pleasing. However, like I said, most everything in between them was a dead bore for me. Overall, this movie was well made, but it couldn’t hold my attention very long. It’s one I’ll probably revisit at some point in the future, but not for some time. I’d recommend it if you like action or a long period piece. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go watch it now!