Verdict:
What is cool about Gladiator (besides a whole bunch of things) is that it is neither pro- nor anti-Roman. There have been a few big movies, almost since the beginning of movies, that put Rome into the evil category. This is is an echo of the anti-Imperial trend of the 20th and 21st century that favors individuality and freedom over unity and order. I will stop before I get overly political, but the point is: Gladiator shows that it is not about the bad and the good sides but rather the bad and the good in the individuals who make up the Empire. It depicts corruption and decadence, but it also depicts loyalty, dedication and love. This is the most historically accurate thing about it.
Other than that, Gladiator is not a particularly historically accurate film. It takes a few obscure events from history, distorts them and ties them together in a knot. And of course, the armor is not going to be perfectly accurate, and of course everything is pumped up for drama. But Gladiator does actually get a great deal right and at least looks genuine. The politics get smart toward the middle of the film. This film has depth, but it is not hard to understand.
Disguised under all the emotional and political machinations, there is a fairly typical formula for an action movie with a good guy and a bad guy, a family member in danger, a personal loss, a cheesy honor speech, and of course a mano-a-mano fight in the end, but the formulaic stuff is packaged and presented very well.
Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus is not the protagonist but is arguably the main character of the film. The “evil” in his character is so refined, deep, believable, and even relatable. The fear is palpable. He feels like a complex character that creates a good contrast to Russel Crowe’s Gladiator, the simpleton soldier with his more straightforward honor, love and anger issues. Oliver Reed as the gladiator owner was very expressive.
I love the scenes in this film. The busy sets are filled with moody lighting; the shots are properly populated and have good atmosphere from all the various fires, mist and snow. Computer generated effects are unfortunately used quite a bit, as the makers would have had a hard time showing the scale without it and yes, some of these effects look dated, but those shots are far and few between.
The soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer brings the necessary gravity to everything, especially in battles. Try listening to “The Might of Rome” then next time you visit a large city. It’s quite awesome. Lisa Gerrard brought her voice to the table, which is a recognizable emotional contralto, though her voice is saved mostly for the credits.
The movie is totally rewatchable, and in fact, the second time may reveal many new nuances in the dialogue you may have missed the first time, especially if you are watching the extended edition (which you should). As time passed after its release, this movie was increasingly becoming a meme. I was modding for a game once and people kept asking me to make Maximus’ armor for a game. The plebeian hype that started surrounding this movie, made me increasingly dislike the movie itself, as if the memory of it was tarnished, but having watched it again, the fact is that this is a very well-made and enjoyable movie.