Man ! this movie is really good.

I really liked the film a lot and it is now one of my all time favourites. The way it was filmed, the actors used, costumes - everything was done pretty much to perfection not a surprise from a director like Ridley Scott though is it. The acting is outstanding especially from Russell Crowe which after this film has become a highly well known actor. The film has strong meanings and values in it which I love in films and the battle scenes are amazingly produced. The film was very well received with a rating of 77% rotten tomatoes.
The opening sequence which is my favourite part was voted as the favourite onscreen battle scene which I defiantly agree with. The scene has great special affects and a captivating atmosphere.
The emotions and action in the film really affects you as you watch it. All angles of emotion are captured sadness, excitement and redemption. I found myself feeling all of this in the appropriate scenes.
I would recommend this film to anyone who likes action and historical epics. It also has love story lines and strong female roles which is also good for females giving it a wide audience. The film is rated a 15 which I think is suitable as the film contains violence, gore and sexual references. I own the film on a 3 disc special DVD set which I brought from HMV for £7 but you can get a standard copy of the film now for £5 on Play.com. This special collector’s edition is nicely presented in a card box which folds out including pictures from the movie. I liked this version better than the normal case as it includes everything you need to know on the film and cast and the time it was set in. This version is worth the extra cost as its one of my favourite films is good to have a nice, decent copy.
The film is a long film with 2 and a half hours but you cannot really notice it when you are so involved in the action. Just as films like lord of the Rings where it is a long but once it was over I wanted to see more hence buying the DVD with all the extras.

(also published on Ciao review website under same name)

One of my favorite movies. The idea of a son killing his father to take his "rightful" place as roman emperor is pretty horrid. Im not saying the story is but I ment the fact that he would kill his father is horrible! The action throughout this movie is sustained and distributed throughout the movie at a good rate, keeping audiences on edge :) The opening battle was very well played out and if you watch the MAKING of that scene you'll appreciate it even more. Also the fact that yo can see the desperation in the emperors eyes when he sees that Maximus was not killed by his guards in the wilderness - Priceless. I've watched this movie probably a good 80+ times

A good movie to watch. The acting was great. Good movie overall

Did you people watch the same movie as me? Bad acting. (AAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMM I NOOOOOOOOT MERCIIIIIIIIFUL!?!?) Disjointed action scences. And that chick-who-gives-important-end-of-movie-speech (He was a soldier of Rome) was an absolute howler. It's wasn't a bad movie- but pure cheese.

It's also one of the worst best-picture Oscar winners I can think of. Plus, those were some average special effects at best.

Epic proportions, beautiful cinematography, costumes, predictable story, and quite slow to develop. Nonetheless well worth a viewing. Big screen please! Not really an action film except for the combat scenes.

Powerful movie. Great acting, that made this movie that much more powerful

good mobie

Few movies of touching the topic has made me immerse myself in the reality and credible environment of the Roman Empire. Acting is superb and the story very convincing.

This is a first rate movie and in my opinion this is tied with "L.A. Confidential" and "Cinderella Man" as Russell Crowe's top movies, but he has been racking them up. He is more than believable as General Maximus, who, through treachery and betrayal, becomes a gladiator and slave. When his family is murdered he becomes hell bent on revenge. he gets it, but at a cost. Great, great fight scenes.

It held my interest, if only because it's the last film appearance of the great Oliver Reed before he died. Russell Crowe is always pretty good in whatever he's in (although he'd do well to get that immense ego of his under control; he's pretty good as an actor, but he's not as great as he seems to think he is), but I do think Joaquin Phoenix is shaping up to be one of America's better actors. Will be interesting to see how he develops in the years to come; I think there's great potential there. One thing I've wondered about this film; does anyone else besides me notice the similarity of endings between this film and "Braveheart"? I'm not sure which one came out first, and I'm not suggesting it was intentionally done, but the one ending recalled, to my mind at least, the ending of the other...

Crowe and Harris are good, the rest are at best mediocre, and the script is unhistorical mumbo-jumbo. Good arena sequences can't make up for the rest.

Tastes vary. Personally, I found this a good cure for ensomnia.

I was not interested in seeing this movie, at first, though I am very happy that I caved in to the wishes of my friends. It is now one of my favorite films: excellent characters and acting, great cinematography and realistic, true-to-history costumes and scenery. Truly one of the great films of its time.

Such a great plot and acting. Historaclly correct and percise. It demonstrates the "bad side" of Rome.

How he goes from being a Roman general to a slave is pretty strange. But other than this the movie is a great epic harkening back to movies from the 60s like Spartacus (released in 1960 I believe), a very inspiring ending. Think Braveheart in Rome.

russell did a fab job in this. it's very good.

Very overrated. An average to better-than-average movie but in no way comparable to, say, "Ben-Hur" (which I heard comparisons to).

Russell Crowes impressively powerful performance won him an Oscar -while Ridley Scott won one for best Director. A fine semi historical film, which is an update on the 1964 film (that was also very good, but less successful-'The Fall of the Roman Empire') Raw, bloody action here- that accurately tells of the Roman Empires beginning decline after the year 180.

Gladiatorial combat is immortalized in this film, the only way it can be: through stunning action sequences and beautiful imagery. It also immortalizes, above all, director Ridley Scott. Roger Ebert complains of people with short memory spans praising this film while forgetting that films like Spartacus have supposedly done this before. Well, I have a good memory, and I remember Spartacus. In fact, I kept on remembering that film while watching Gladiator, only in the context of, "This is so much better than Spartacus. It goes beyond." The action is better, the visuals are better, the story is better, and the acting is better. Sorry, Kirk. Since this is an action film, the story isn't the most important element, but for an action film it is actually quite good. For one thing, I liked the disturbing under-the-surface incest element going on between Commodus and Connie Nielson. Furthermore, it was interesting to see how Crowe gained support among the gladiators until it became as if he were a general leading his army again. The plot itself needed to be there in order to fully create a sense of grandeur. With its insurrection story, the rise of the hero and his trek to the capitol of Rome, and the look at the people in power, the plot creates a sense of time-and-place necessary for an epic that couldn't exist with the visuals and action alone. The acting is among the best one can ever seen for an action film, and there is plenty of fine dramatic work pulled off by the two main actors. Russell Crowe is now one of the best "new" (four or five films so far) actors in film. We believe, in his glances and the ways he delivers his many great lines, that he is Maximus. He is poignant, hate-filled, and sorrowful all at once. The praise he is getting is deserved. But why isn't Phoenix being lauded just as much? He carries the film in the second-largest role just as well as Crowe. His Emperor Commodus isn't a good villain and has no real character, but Phoenix adds so many layers to him and turns him into a great antagonist that that alone makes his performance excellent. He commands attention just as Crowe does. All by himself (no help from any great dialogue or development), he creates a villain that is prissy, whining, ambitious, pathetic, and malevolent, and worthy of our hate as well as our pity. It's a wonderful transformation. To sum it up, the characters themselves aren't really developed at all- but the acting is so good that it seems they are.

Historically inaccurate,but a great movie nonetheless.The battle scenes brought cold,hard realism to the savagery of war when it was fought face to face with swords and maces.The cinematography was excellent and the leading man (whose name escapes me just now) did a good job with his role.

Amazing movie.

Scott did a great job with this film, from the battles in Germania to the fights in Rome, the directing was great. The acting was also good, with Harris, Crowe and Pheonix giving great performances.

I thought that at one point, the movie was going to forge into another Sparticas, but it took a much different turn with a barrage of arrows, and ended effectively.

BEST MOVIE EVER

People still dig blood and guts, as did the ancient Romans. This provided enough of both, and had a decent storyline to boot. A wonderful take on the good old days. :)

No way should this have beaten Traffic for best movie.

Not historically accurate, not a lot of great acting (though you do hate Joaquin Phoenix), but some very well staged and ambitious action scenes.

Gladiator's one of those films that needs the big screen because the action + spectacular scenery are what keep it going. Once you see it on TV there's not enough plot to keep you interested and the impact of the action diminishes. 5 stars seeing it at the cinema first time around, dropping to 3 stars when seeing it on TV.

Gladiator is one of the best movies I've seen when it comes to the time when gladiators,and the romen empire was said to be. It moves pretty fast so you dont get bored like some of the other moves. The plot is neat to Crowe starts out as General becomes a slave then becomes a Gladiator and upsets the Empire. You have to love it.

Maximus is the man

Stupid inferior remake of Tony Mann's great film The Fall of the Roman Empire. Forget Gladiator, watch The Fall of the Roman Empire. Russell Crowe is idiotic in this film.

Amazing movie. Loved the fight scene where they wore the gold masks.

One of my favorite movies of all times. Russell Crowe did an amazing job and the whole movie was just shot beautifully. Malta is such a beautiful little island. I never cry in movies, but this one brought me to tears. He deserved to win that Oscar, that's for sure. Thank you for a great movie.

You wanna fight

I was tricked into seeing this movie. I had no plans to see it to begin with. Glad I did. Deserved ever Oscar it received. Almost as good as Silence of the Lambs.

This is an epic and at the end you definitly feel like you want more. The special effects were awsome and the cinematography was excellent. Russell Crowe did a great job. Another must see if you have not seen it yet.

My all time favorite.

Very realistic...similar on a par to the film Excalibur. Engrossed from beginning to end.

One of my all time favorite movies. The end was my favorite part. It was the most realistic scene of someone going to heaven I ever saw. Very emotional and very good.

Awesome movie!! One of the best I have seen.

what to say about it it's just excellent

Blech. Give me Spartacus over this computerized F/X junk any day.

Great film. Are you not entertained?

I absolutely loved this film when I saw it at the cinema - but its not a film that I can watch repeatedly. I do have it on DVD, but its something I only watch every now and again. I thought that the costumes and the photography of the film were absolutely fantastic. The recreation of the Colusseum was breathtaking. Russell Crowe gives a solid performance as per usual, but he consistantly lets himself down by having his distinctive New Zealand accent slipping through. Its a very moving film and always brings a lump to my throat at the end.

this movie is a great choice for someone who wants action. The hand to hand combat and other fighting scenes are fantastic,a nd the plot is great too. Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix give excellent performances. a must-see!

This one has been sitting on my DVD shelf for about two years, and I'm only now just getting to it. I have to really be in the mood to watch a so-called epic like this. The acting was very good for the most part, but Joaquin Phoenix (Commodus) really started getting on my nerves with all his crybaby whining. As a couple of other raters have mentioned, the historical facts were pretty much thrown out the window, and that can be pretty distracting when you know it really didn't happen that way.

This movie contains all the important elements that make an excellent action movie. While some reviewers are basing their ratings of this movie on historical fact, I am going to stick with the fictional side...as I didn't go see this movie for historical reasons. I went to see it cause I wanted to see some good fighting and some good action. And the movie followed thru all the way. Superb acting all around, and especially so by the great Joaquin Phoenix, a very underrated actor who did an Oscar worthy performance in this movie. Russell Crowe also did a great job as the Gladiator. The bloodbath scenes in this movie made it even better...a must see for hardcore action movie fans. An excellent movie that cannot be missed !

This movie pissed me off. Not only does it make a hash of history, but the score is stolen from composers who are not mentioned in the credits. While the action sequences are well done and exciting, Hans Zimmer deserves jail time for his plagiarism. Few people who see it have any clue. UPDATE: since I am getting tons of unhelpfuls I must be doing something right. I HATE STEALING. Just because something is in public domain doesn't mean it has a tag on it that says, feel free to TAKE this, put YOUR name on it and claim it as YOUR OWN!! Large stretches of Zimmer's score are lifted from Wagner's Das Rheingold--transposed from D-flat to A, and reorchestrated for simplicity--and stolen from Holst (specifically, Mars from The Planets), squared from the original 5/4 meter to 3/2, probably because the lazy overpaid Hollywood hack needed to make the selection a little bit longer. The closing credits read, and I QUOTE: ORIGINAL score composed by Hans Zimmer. He got away with it because ignorant audiences don't know any better. Plagiarism is disgusting and the proper punishment is public humiliation.

Oh my God! What a load of bullcrap! I could admit that it has a pretty good action sequence, but it is definitely absolutely the most historically incorrect movie I`ve ever seen! It is rated R, although in my opinion, it should be rated C, as in Cliche. It is so cliche, it`s not even funny. However, my brother and I had fun watching it simply because it was great to make fun of as it went. Some lines are so stereotypical, it`s impossible not to make fun of them. We also thought of numerous alternative endings to this movie. The action scenes were quite good, I could give it that, but the SFX could have been better... much better (esp. the tiger). And were they trying to compensate for poor plot by making each fighting scene a virtual bloodbath? And come on, what acting? How can you even take the characters seriously when the plot is so unrealistic? The script was incredibly flat and predictible, and honestly, so was the storyline. How oh how did I know that Maximus was going to die the first time I saw him? I think its because I have what they call the shine... Which is also the reason I knew that he and Lucilla were gonna fall in love. Braveheart, anyone? A dead wife, a dead son... need I say more? The point I`m making here is that there are already so many movies like that, why add to human suffering by making another one?

Awesome movie. Rarely does a holywood releases something noteworthy.

An AWSOME story along with AMAZING acting A must see.