Gladiator

A clear disappointment after the first viewing. As a big Scott fan, I was expecting a big return of the Master. Actually, visually it was "Scott" and the music was monumental as well, but the shallowness of the script was unpleasantly surprising and the stupid dialogues made my toes curl. Also, as someone who is somewhat interested in history, it made me laugh a lot. But I’m used to it already. I've accepted the fact that it's an ordinary popcorn movie, visually it's awesome, Joaquin Phoenix is great and so I won't go below four stars. (24.05.2002)

Ridley Scott hat den "historischen" Hollywood-Blockbuster in all seiner Pracht wiederauferstehen lassen... in all seiner Buntheit, seiner Bombastik, seiner Schemenhaftigkeit, seinem Pathos, seiner Oberflächlichkeit. Er hat ein Werk geschaffen, das das Auge des Betrachters anspricht, aber sobald er sich den Ideen zuwendet, fühlte ich mich wie in einer misslungenen Schulstunde "Römische Staatskunst für Anfänger" (niemand kann mir ausreden, dass Gladiator im Kern völliger Unsinn ist). Scotts Arbeit ist brillant, sobald die "Action" im Gange ist, aber während der Dialoge gleitet er in die typische leere Geschwätzigkeit ab, und wenn es nicht die meisterhafte Art und Weise wäre, in der das Duo Crowe-Phoenix seine Intrigen ausfüllt, wäre von Gladiator nicht viel übrig geblieben. Ridley Scott hat mich mit seinem Ansatz grob in die Irre geführt. Seine Regie ist routiniert, professorenhaft kalt, nur in den Kampfsequenzen kann man vielleicht von einem einzigartigen Ansatz sprechen (obwohl die wackelige Handkamera und das "Auslassen" von Fenstern nicht die Erfindung des Meisters sind). Was ich an diesem Film vermisse, ist der wirkliche Geist... es wird ständig über Rom geredet, aber leider bleibt es für die Qualität des Films wirklich nur ein Traum (durch den gerenderten Hintergrund). Deshalb ziehe ich die Ideen von William Wallace oder Captain Nathan Algren vor. Ihr Kampf hat für mich eine größere Bedeutung als die altehrwürdige Rache für den Tod eines geliebten Menschen. Ridley Scott hat einfach eine pompöse Sinfonie zu alten Noten gespielt. Es ist dasselbe wie bei der Musik von Hans Zimmer - sie weckt die gewünschten Emotionen, klingt kraftvoll, heroisch... Das erwartet man schließlich von einem großen Film, nicht wahr? Aber ich würde behaupten, dass das Erwartete schon besser gemacht wurde, wenn auch vielleicht nicht so größenwahnsinnig. (02.10.2004)

Ridley Scott decided to revive the tradition of epic “sword-and-sandal" movies and although the result was more of a classic fairytale, thanks to the flawless production design, gripping action scenes, wonderful visuals, booming music by Hans Zimmer, marvelous directing and charismatic actors, the end result is surprisingly good. All this, despite the rather sub-standard screenplay and almost zero historical faithfulness. ♫ OST score: 4/5 (29.01.2007)

Russell Crowe was most deserving of the role of Maximus. I was proud for him in every scene. You could feel the desire for revenge in his every move. A true historical epic with fantastic music! I have a fond appreciation for lines like... "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions and 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." (25.07.2011)

I ignored Gladiator during its premiere and successfully for another 12 years, but during one of its reruns on TV, I couldn't resist and subsequently found out that my contempt for Gladiator should have persisted and my instinct did not disappoint as usual. The film simply has nothing to offer me, because it is a typical summer blockbuster with pompous production design, but it's stupid as hell. The story and dialogue are trivial and I don't hesitate to say idiotic. Of course, Connie Nielsen looks good, both the male stars are very solid actors and they keep the film afloat in parts, but other than that, I can only mention the generous set design, and then I'm out of positives. Even the often-mentioned opening battle didn't impress me much, and I maybe appreciate only the gladiators' fights in the arena. I dare to sacrilegiously declare that recently made movies Centurion and The Eagle, with the absence of movie stars, a fraction of the budget, and incomparably smaller ambitions suited me much better, although I don't consider them to be the pinnacle of cinema and I know they have numerous flaws. Overall impression: 40%. (27.08.2012)

“Hold the line, stay with me” – Roman general Maximus leads his army into battle, accompanied by Hans Zimmer’s powerful score, which I consider to be one of the best in the history of cinema. Ridley Scott once again serves us a visual feast, at the expense of weaker content. But it must be noted that the content wasn't really that bad, after all, the story also has its historical roots, which makes it closer to the audience. Sometimes the dialogues seemed a bit silly, but I won't dwell on it. The main thing in this well-made film is to enjoy Scott's typical style, the fantastic cinematography, which is incredibly dynamic and detailed, especially in the action scenes, the exceptional editing, and even the sound design deserves praise. (08.05.2005)

Und da haben wir’s wieder – der Director’s Cut hat aus diesem perfekten Film ein unglaubliches episches Werk gemacht! Alle, die in historischen Ungenauigkeiten herumbohren, sollen sich zum Teufel scheren. Darum geht es hier überhaupt nicht! Gladiator hat eine andere Botschaft als Geschichtsbücher! Dieser Film gehört zu meinen größten Kinoerlebnissen (die DVD-Version hat die Erinnerungen wieder wachgerufen), und zwar dank des Trios Scott – Crowe – Zimmer. (22.05.2010)

A narratively and emotionally artistic spectacle that cleverly adapts the classic needs of historical cinema to the insatiable Hollywood mainstream, whose greatest asset, the overblown and expensive audiovisuals, is so phenomenal that it almost overshadows its great weakness, namely the script. I don’t give a shit about historical accuracy, but with more viewings I'm mostly annoyed by the superficial, half-baked message, served on a disproportionately stretched plot. I love this film, and the coliseum scenes are iconic, but Scott was more of a craftsman over the details than a builder of riveting heroic destinies, which was sorely needed. (15.07.2011)

I used to dislike this movie because I didn't like Scott or Crow. Today, I still don't really like Scott, but I adore Russell Crow because he is simply a great actor. And even though I would like to rate the movie even more, I can't because it simply contains elements that bother me. Like the unnecessary pathos. Still, it is a magnificent spectacle. (04.04.2016)

Without exaggeration, the best historical movie ever made. Under Scott's direction, the film has the right pace and keeps growing incredibly over time. The script isn't anything special, a great fall and a subsequent rise, but I just can't help myself. When I factor in Crowe’s brilliant performance, Zimmer's excellent soundtrack as usual, and great visual effects, it goes straight to my list of favorites. (25.07.2012)