‘Gladiator’ Is Entertainus Maximus

He’s a sly one, that Ridley Scott. A crucial subtext to be drawn from his newest film: Is the bloodlust developed by cheering coliseum crowds, as they roar in approval to the spectacle of men hacking and slashing each other to death for their entertainment, far removed from the joyous satisfaction moviegoers will achieve while watching Roman general Maximus (Russell Crowe) and his mates plow through their foes? It’s an intriguing, bite-the-hand-that-fees-you kind of dialectic that is further goosed when Maximus, after brutally and single-handedly mowing down his opponents, yells scornfully to the assembled throng, “Are you not entertained?” Well, as a matter of fact, we are. Is Scott therefore casting a cynical pall over his proceeding?

It’s doubtful this is Scott’s intention, though he obviously is aware of these implications and colors much of his latest film, Gladiator, with these subtle shadings. However, he also cleverly makes sure that nearly every one of our hero’s foes is masked (and, most notably, the one who is unmasked, a former gladiator star, is spared), thereby making them virtually anonymous and keeping us from siding with anyone but the tale’s protagonist, warrior-supreme yet soulful family man, Maximus.

Indeed, Ridley Scott is quite clever here and has more in mind that sheer spectacle. The skilled director behind the visionary future-noir Blade Runner, the gritty, lived-in sci-fi of Alien, and the cutting-edge contemporary feminism of Thelma & Louise, turns his keen eye for snazzy visuals toward the past with Gladiator, a no-nonsense, swords-and-shields Roman epic set in AD 180.

Gladiator opens with a set-piece battle sequence of violent virtuosity akin to Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan sequence (though not as long nor as wearyingly intense as Spielberg’s Normandy Beach sequence). In it, we’re introduced to Maximus, the noble and fearsome general adept at war who longs to return home to his family and leave the carnage of war behind him. After what he believes to be his final battle, the valiant warrior is asked one last favor from his emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris): succeed him and return Rome to her former glory and its leadership to the senate. Of course, this sits poorly with Aurelius’ son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), who lusts after the power and respect bestowed upon the office he deems should be his. This pushes the scheming Commodus into action and his vile plotting leads to the banishment of Maximus, a cruel end for the warrior’s family, and the return of excessive gladiator games in the Roman Coliseum. Thus the stage is set for a vengeful Maximus, now a slave fighting for his freedom as a gladiator, to return to Rome with a score to settle.

Gladiator is not only powered by Scott’s sure directorial hand, but is blessed with a talented cast that includes Harris, the esteemed Derek Jacobi as senator Gracchus; the statuesque Connie Nielsen as Commodus’ sister, Lucilla; the late Oliver Reed (who died in the final weeks of filming) in his final role as Maximus’ gladiatorial mentor, Proximo; and the welcome return of Djimon (Amistad) Hounsou as one of Maximus’ fellow slave-gladiators. But the movie rests on the sure shoulders of Crowe, whose intensity is far sharper than any of the deadly swords he wields as Maximus. He layers his brooding character with an integrity that entreats him to the audience, for although we see the lethal rage of which he is capable, we also see his icy, cobalt blue eyes melt at the thought of his family and home, and memories of his wife and son bring a warming smile to his otherwise granite façade.

Gladiator, rated R for intense and graphic violence and combat, will likely have contemporary audiences rooting right along with their onscreen Coliseum counterparts, “Maximus! Maximus! Maximus!”