Until now, Hollywood hadn’t made an Ancient Roman epic in my lifetime.  And they may as well not attempt another, because I can’t see them creating a better one than Gladiator.  Director Ridley Scott’s (G.I. Jane) unique visual stamp – from the colorless studio logos for Dreamworks and Universal at the beginning, to the startling, dream-like ending – has crafted a real winner, firmly establishing Gladiator as 2000’s first genuine blockbuster.

Gladiator takes place at the tail end of the second century, where the Roman Empire controls much of existence.  With one more campaign remaining to bring peace to this vast empire, General Maximus (Russell Crowe, The Insider) leads his troops into battle in the woods of Germania against a group of barbarians in the winter of 180 A.D.  Before giving the signal to begin the skirmish, Maximus bends down to scoop up a handful of dirt, which he rubs into his hands and smells, before uttering the wonderful line, “At my signal, unleash Hell.”  And thankfully the way he says it isn’t totally over the top, like a Stallone or a Schwarzenegger.  The battle scene is as well done as Braveheart, but darker, muddier, foggier, and probably more akin to The 13th Warrior.

After annihilating the barbarians, Maximus is summoned by the current Emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris, Smilla’s Sense of Snow), who is dying and expresses his desire for the well-respected General to take over his throne.  Despite wanting only to return to his farm, wife and young son, Maximus reluctantly agrees.  The news of the Emperor’s appointment doesn’t sit well with Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix, 8mm), who is Marcus Aurelius’ only son.

Without divulging too many surprises, I’ll just say that a bunch of stuff happens.  Now Marcus Aurelius is dead, Commodus rules the Empire, and Maximus is a slave purchased by a former gladiator named Proximo (the late Oliver Reed, who died before filming ended), along with Juba (Djimon Hounsou, Amistad) and Hagen (former Mr. Universe Ralph Moeller).  Proximo plans to enter his new slaves in fight-to-the-death battles that will entertain the masses.

Maximus isn’t the biggest or the strongest soldier, but like Braveheart’s William Wallace, he's is the perfect combination of heart and head, with an ample dose of hell-bent revenge tossed in for good measure.  Together with Juba and Hagen, he plows through local competition, smelling dirt and fighting his way to the top like Rocky, eventually earning the right to battle before 50,000 in Rome.  This, of course, give Maximus the perfect opportunity to get close to Commodus and, potentially, to settle the score.

Crowe is fantastic as Maximus and, for the twenty-nine people that actually saw his Oscar-nominated turn in The Insider, you won’t see even a trace of Jeffrey Wigand here.  The biggest surprise is Phoenix, who turns in a respectably strong performance as the picture-perfect, sneering antagonist.  Gladiator was filmed in Morocco and Malta, and was written by John Logan (Any Given Sunday), William Nicholson (Nell) and co-producer David H. Franzoni (Amistad).  The film was brilliantly photographed by John Mathieson (Plunkett & Macleane, which was directed by Scott’s son Jake) and edited by Oscar-winner Pietro Scalia (JFK). The unobtrusive score is from another Oscar-winner - Hans Zimmer (The Lion King), and the marvelous sets and costumes, which reminded me a lot of the World War II look in Titus, were designed by Arthur Max (Se7en) and Janty Yates (Plunkett & Macleane), respectively.

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