You like movies about gladiators, kid? If so, you know this genre is filled with both epic blockbusters and epic stinkers, and it can be hard to find a film that kicks butt and is generally worth its weight in swords and shields. Fortunately, the ultimate movie in this genre, Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning Gladiator (2000), is now streaming on Peacock and Paramount+.
The grim premise of Gladiator is that a powerful Roman general is betrayed and his family killed, ultimately leading to him being sold to a gladiator trainer. This training allows him to become a popular gladiator, one who ultimately gets the chance to compete in Rome’s famous Colosseum. There, he will fight to get revenge on the man who betrayed him, who is now a corrupt Emperor and arguably the most powerful man on the planet.
A New Contender Enters The Hollywood Arena
Gladiator features an entire Colosseum of great performers, but the real revelation here is Russell Crowe (best known for Les Misérables). The film is a showcase for his many talents, and he is just as compelling playing a family man haunted by what was taken from him as he is playing a warrior dead set on revenge. This is the movie that made Crowe into a Hollywood superstar, and if anything, his performance is even more riveting now than it was 25 years ago.
The film is filled with other great actors, including Richard Harris (best known for Unforgiven) as the philosopher Emperor Marcus Aurelius, a man assassinated by his own son. That son is played by Joaquin Phoenix (best known for Walk the Line), and he utilizes all of his skills as one of Hollywood’s greatest character actors to transform the corrupt Emperor Commodus into the ultimate villain of the new millennium. He’s the kind of Big Bad that you love to hate, and Phoenix’s performance (which alternates between chillingly understated to explosively over-the-top) ensures his inevitable fight with our hero will have you on the edge of your seat.
Swords, Sandals, And Oscars
When Gladiator came out, its particular brand of bread and circuses was quite a hit with moviegoers around the world. Against a budget of $103 million, this movie earned a whopping $466 million at the box office, and that’s enough green to make an emperor blush. Most assumed this would be a standalone film, but 24 years later, Ridley Scott directed Gladiator 2, a less successful sequel featuring a new cast of characters.
Russell Crowe’s character in Gladiator famously asks, “are you not entertained,” but it turns out critics found this swords and sandals epic most entertaining. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie has a rating of 80 percent, with critics praising director Ridley Scott for his breathtaking, blockbuster recreation of Rome. They also commended Crowe’s captivating and charismatic performance, predicting (and quite rightfully so) that Gladiator would transform him into a major movie star.
All of this critical and commercial success led to Gladiator being nominated for 12 Academy Awards, ultimately taking home five of them. The movie won Best Picture (beating out competitors that included hit films like Erin Brockovich and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Best Actor for Russell Crowe (beating more experienced acting heavyweights like Tom Hanks and Ed Harris). In addition to these honors, Gladiator also won the Oscars for Best Visual Effects, Best Sound, and Best Costume Design.
Standing The Test Of Time
One of the reasons Gladiator remains so popular is that it’s a movie that fans can enjoy on several different levels. History buffs will likely geek out at the appearance of major figures like Marcus Aurelius, and it’s genuinely thrilling to see how well director Ridley Scott recreated the opulence and majesty of Ancient Rome. If you’re not a history geek when the film starts, you may well be one by the end because you’ll learn many crazy facts about this time period through action-packed osmosis.
Speaking of action, it’s also possible to simply enjoy Gladiator as a movie filled with some of the coolest onscreen fights in Hollywood history. Scott successfully transformed the movie theater into the modern arena (popcorn and circuses, if you will), and he transforms every battle between characters into a clash of larger-than-life titans. The great writing and characterization in the film also give these battles genuinely high stakes, and you’ll likely be just as invested in the outcome of each fight as the Roman citizens of old.
Will you agree that Gladiator is the ultimate, well, gladiator movie, or would you rather throw yourself into the arena than watch this Oscar-winning film all the way to the end? The only way to find out is to grab your sword, shield, and remote, and stream this movie. By the time it’s over, I’m confident you’ll answer the question “are you not entertained” with a resounding “yes.”
