Gladiator

Batman · Post by **Batman** » 2003-06-19 03:34pm

irishmick79 wrote:I just think the emperor wouldn't have bothered with fighting Maximus himself. He had multiple ways of gruesome public execution he could have utilized instead.

Absolutely. But I think he wanted to be seen dealing with that upstart Gladiator personally.

I strongly disagree that the fight would have been inline with Commodus's personality. Commodus did not like the taste of battle one bit, and went to great lengths to avoid it.

And he went to great lengths to assure this one would not be a battle
but an execution. And it should have worked.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-06-19 03:39pm

AdmiralKanos wrote:It's violent, and it's a blockbuster. Those are both black marks in a typical critic's book, so they went into the theatre with a preconception, just LOOKING for excuses to attack it rather than simply watching the movie.

It's also a man's movie, and whether critics admit it or not, they derive a perverse sense of superiority from disliking anything that Joe Sixpack likes, particularly if it isn't sufficiently original for them.

Oh no, a vengeance theme! We've seen this before, so the movie sucks!

Damn right!

People keep comparing it to Spartacus and other similar movies. The fact is, nothing can be 100% original anyway, everyone gets inspiration from someone else.

Those that attack Gladiator either hate it because of those facts or expect it to be something else. If you don't like the film, fine, quit bitching about it.

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2003-06-19 06:06pm

I went to the theater with very low expectations, simply because I thought it was going to suck. I like violence and gladiator combat and all that, I just didn't think this one would pull it off. I was extremely pleasantly surprised.

The story is simple yet fascinating, the action is amazing, the acting is great, and above all, for me at least, the cinematography is extremely pretty. The lighting and colors are just so beautiful that even if this movie was about Barney the dinosaur masturbating to mutilated squirrels, I'd love watching it.

The only complaint I could understand is that it is pretty melodramatic. But I, for one, don't mind melodrama, and the acting in this is so solid that even someone who doesn't like melodrama should like the movie.

irishmick79 · Post by **irishmick79** » 2003-06-19 06:13pm

Robert Treder wrote:The lighting and colors are just so beautiful that even if this movie was about Barney the dinosaur masturbating to mutilated squirrels, I'd love watching it.

Wow. That's funny.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-06-19 06:14pm

irishmick79 wrote:
Robert Treder wrote:The lighting and colors are just so beautiful that even if this movie was about Barney the dinosaur masturbating to mutilated squirrels, I'd love watching it.
Wow. That's funny.

I concur!

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-06-19 06:19pm

Robert Treder wrote:
The story is simple yet fascinating, the action is amazing, the acting is great, and above all, for me at least, the cinematography is extremely pretty. The lighting and colors are just so beautiful that even if this movie was about Barney the dinosaur masturbating to mutilated squirrels, I'd love watching it.

Please hold this live thermobaric warhead while I go hide over behind that huge wall.

Robert Treder · Post by **Robert Treder** » 2003-06-19 06:21pm

Sea Skimmer wrote:Please hold this live thermobaric warhead while I go hide over behind that huge wall.

Yes, sir. Would you like me to arm it, as well? Or did you just want me to hold it?

2000AD · Post by **2000AD** » 2003-06-19 06:21pm

I thought it was OK. the fight scenes were good but apart form that i didn't really find it that impressive.

Mark S · Post by **Mark S** » 2003-06-19 06:31pm

I liked it. I own the tape. I thought it was a lot like Braveheart but that's ok. It did a good job of it.

As for the Emperor getting in the arena with a gladiator, well there was a Roman emperor that actually did that. I believe it was the real life Commodus but I could be mistaken. The real life guy was another wacko of the ceasers and thought he was Hercules. He ended up getting himself killed in a match.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2003-06-19 06:42pm

The real life Commodus did enter the arena, and was well-loved for it. The real Commodus was also a big, burly-necked mental defect, unlike the Commodus we see in the film.

Cyborg Stan · Post by **Cyborg Stan** » 2003-06-19 07:10pm

I remember watching the director's commentary on the DVD.

Supposedly Commodus in the movie was supposed to also be a supreb swordfighter himself. (Shown in a very brief scene in the beginning of the movie where he's practicing against four other guys surrounding him, and perhaps slightly indicted later on.) However it's not something that really entered my mind until then so I suppose it could/should have been better emphasized.

HemlockGrey · Post by **HemlockGrey** » 2003-06-19 07:12pm

Yeah, in the commentary Ridley Scott mentioned that the scene where he was fighting with four guys was absolutely necessary; a sort of hanging gun for the final battle.

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2003-06-19 07:39pm

I just couldn't stand how it was edited during fight and combat scenes. Many shots seemed to have been edited oddly, either slowed down after being filmed sped up or vise-versa. It looked schizophrenic and distracting during the fights, with hyperactive shots being intercut with each other. It made me lose interest during the fights. IIRC, there were some parts that were filmed like that that weren't action sequences, too. I mean, is this a violent histo-drama or a rock opera?

And again I personally feel that while overall the film was quite violent, the violence on an individual scene basis seemed a little too dry and tame...

It was too boring and a little too sterilised for my tastes, overall.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2003-06-19 07:55pm

My only complaint was the battle scene at the beginning when they switched into 'drop frames to make choppy action' mode.

Post by **Sea Skimmer** » 2003-06-19 08:17pm

Robert Treder wrote:
Yes, sir. Would you like me to arm it, as well? Or did you just want me to hold it?

*Pokes back over the wall holding a remote control*

No, just hold it please.

*Drops back down behind thick blast deflecting wall*

Darth Gojira · Post by **Darth Gojira** » 2003-06-20 07:15am

irishmick79 wrote:The ending was fucking horrible. I'm sorry, but no Roman emperor in his right mind would have gotten into a sword fight with a gladiator. Even the insane ones knew better than to fuck around with gladiators.

Historically, the real Commodus was a pretty good fighter who went into the ring regularly. He never ever lost a fight, probably because he'd have the victor executed.

He was murdered by a wrestler who was his chief cronie. Got stabbed in a bathtub actually. And he DID outlive his sister, who was banished for plotting and died in exile.

Next of Kin · Post by **Next of Kin** » 2003-06-20 04:18pm

irishmick79 wrote:The ending was fucking horrible. I'm sorry, but no Roman emperor in his right mind would have gotten into a sword fight with a gladiator. Even the insane ones knew better than to fuck around with gladiators.

Interestingly enough, the real life Emperor Commodus did enter himself into gladiatorial combat much to the chagrin to the upper-classes. But lets not kid ourselves. The opponent was weakened so that the Emperor would not lose.