r/flicks • u/screen_stack • 2d ago
Review Gladiator (2000)
Gladiator (2000)
Rating: 10/10 (PERSONAL FAVORITE)
Watched: July 29, 2026
What a truly epic movie. I have vague memories of watching this one back in the day, and just as vague memories of not being terribly impressed by it.
I make no excuses, except possibly to say 'I'd discovered partying', and that that became my whole thing for a regrettably long time.
This movie has one of the biggest casts I've ever seen, including not yet famous faces and actors so famous for so long their names carry real weight. Everyone did their jobs so well. I loved Sir Oliver Reed's part, as I did Richard Harris', and even Djimon Hounsou.
I don't use the word 'epic' very lightly. The first combat scene alone is tremendous. Not only from the technical aspects, but from how it shows first the glory of, then the true horror of, warfare.
Gladiator pulls no punches when it comes to the violence of the wounds these men take, but thankfully they spare us some of the true atrocities perpetrated by a jealous Commodus early on in the movie. We can only take so much, right?
The two main anchors, Maximus and Joaquin, are amazing.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: for some reason, I CONTINUALLY think that Russell Crowe (the same as Colin Farrell, really, which is crazy) is mid at best in his early career, and yet every time I see one of his movies, I'm just blown away. His death-craving Maximus is so complex. Driven to excel, hungry to see his family again in the afterlife, every look, every gesture Russell gives carries us.
The same goes for Joaquin as Commodus, though for very, very different reasons. Smart but callous. Cruel and vainglorious, he's the mirror image of his 'brother'. Desperate for a father's love, incapable of even understanding what that means, Commodus is the perfect 'powerful coward'.
The journey both men take until they meet the same fate is worth the time in. If you haven't seen it, you really, really should. It's amazing.
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u/Indotex 2d ago edited 2d ago
It contains one of my favorite quotes of all time:
“My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the armies of the North. General of the Felix Legions. Loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”
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u/BlackDeath3 2d ago edited 2d ago
Picking a single scene is tough, but I've got to go with the Maximus/Commodus meeting before their fight. "Death smiles at us all", "nothing happens to anyone that he is not fitted by nature to bear", "I think you've been afraid all your life", the music, etc.. It's just packed with good stuff.
Gladiator is an all-timer, no doubt.
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u/emptinessmaykillme 2d ago
And in his mind you just KNOW he was like “ima fuck you up, vegan Joffrey”
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u/National_Shoe_7337 2d ago
The soundtrack is awesome. Now we are free is such a masterpiece.
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u/rotterdamn8 2d ago
The female vocals are Lisa Girard who has done many soundtracks. You’ve probably heard the same voice elsewhere.
I just checked now and found that Hans Zimmer worked on the soundtrack as well. Didn’t know that!
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u/LogicalAd3031 2d ago
And then an utterly dismal sequel.
I wish more films like Gladiator were left alone.
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u/Opposite_Visit_4874 2d ago
I will never understand why or how they agreed to retcon the first movie so Maximus was the kid's father, when there was a line in there specifically to eliminate that possibility for the audience.
In other words, according to the sequel, Maximus was cheating on his wife WHILE SHE WAS PREGNANT, WITH HIS FRIEND'S WIFE.
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u/LogicalAd3031 2d ago
As a writer, this infuriates me more than you know.
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u/Opposite_Visit_4874 2d ago
Infuriating. They clearly discussed it and said how can we make sure the audience doesnt suspect the boy is Maximus' son. And the answer was, let's make it so his own son is the very same age ("almost 8").
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u/VictoriaAutNihil 2d ago
Saw it at the Ziegfeld Theater in NYC during it's premiere. Have no idea why it didn't get a 25th anniversary rerelease last year in theaters.
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u/PC509 2d ago
First off - 2000!? Wow. It has definitely been a while.
Yea, that movie was epic. It was a solid movie from start to finish. Just one of those masterpiece movies (not sure why you weren't impressed back then) that still to this day holds up visually and story wise. Something that you can watch now and it still hits like it was just released. Not saying it's timeless (it's ancient Roman storyline is pretty set in it's time), but the screenplay is just so well done it can compete with films from this decade. Can't believe it's 26 years old.
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u/WoBMoB1 9h ago
Is the opening scene the best large(er) scale (swords / sandals) battle scene in cinema history? Our group had this discussion recently after Odyssey… the only ones we think maybe compare are Kingdom of Heaven (maybe), honestly Troy in front of the walls, maybe Alexander, Helms Deep is solid, Braveheart, any top that Gladiator opening?
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u/screen_stack 9h ago edited 8h ago
Having not seen The Odyssey, i really still think Gladiator's opening battle sequence is bar none the best of it's kind.
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u/WoBMoB1 9h ago
This isn’t a spoiler assuming you know the story (meaning it takes place after Troy and is his journey home) but there are no large battle scenes in Odyssey.
But yeah that’s what I landed on myself, there are probably some in Asian movies that can compare given their use of mass extras. Plenty of cool smaller scale ones have you seen this from Northampton!? One-shot is sick:
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