Review: Gladiator is an Awesome Movie (Spoilers)

It’s now November which means that we have two more months of 2024 before it’s 2025. That means that we’ll be in another year of the Left losing their minds over Trump, 2015 will be ten years ago, AI will probably be several steps closer to taking over the movie industry, Disney will continue pumping out remakes and losing money, and Gen Beta will officially be a thing (brace yourselves for Gen Alpha 2.0).

Okay, enough of that. We have a movie to review in preparation for its unnecessary sequel.

#1: The Plot

I first saw Gladiator back when I was in my Percy Jackson phase and loved anything that had to do with the Greeks and Romans. When it was suggested for movie night, I was excited to watch it and was so enthralled by the story that though it was close to midnight when it ended, I managed to stay awake for the entire duration of the movie.

The story takes place during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the father of the infamous emperor, Commodus (who I happened to know a bit about thanks to The Trials of Apollo series). Maximus is a general for him, fighting against the barbarian tribes in Germania. After winning a battle, Marcus tells him that he wants to make him Ceaser because Commodus is a coward and unfit to rule. Maximus accepts this, but Commodus kills Marcus and betrays Maximus and his buddy, Quintus, by attempting to have them executed in the woods. They kill the executioner; Maximus goes back to his home in Spain where he finds that his wife and son have been crucified, and he’s kidnapped by thieves after burying his family.

From there, he’s sold as a slave and is forced to fight in gladiatorial games, eventually making his way through the ranks until he’s in Rome to fight in the Colosseum. There, he does well and when Commodus asks for his name, he removes his helmet showing who he is. Commodus is rather peeved at this and gives him more challenges that Maximus survives, which makes the crowd love him even more. When Commodus then finds out that his sister, Lucilia has been working with Maximus to stage a coup and get rid of him, he decides to fight and kill Maximus himself in the Colosseum, wounding him in the side first to make him easier to kill. However, Maximus still fights well despite the wound and disarms Commodus before the fight, which forces both of them to use their fists to fight. Unfortunately, Commodus has a dagger and stabs Maximus before Maximus turns it on him and stabs him to death. They both die and Maximus is buried by Lucilia as a soldier of Rome.

Though this story isn’t very historically accurate (something I’ll talk about soon), it’s one of the few movies produced in the past few decades that portrays masculinity in a good way. Maximus is someone who is brave and noble leader, fighting for the country that he loves, being willing to sacrifice for the good of many and rouse his men to do the same (which we see both on the battlefield and in the colosseum), which is why Marcus wants to make him Ceaser instead of Commodus, who is – in many ways – an example of actual toxic masculinity. However, though he’s a strong warrior, Maximus still has a tender side towards his son and wife which we see in establishing shots of his family, his wish to go back to his family when the battle is over, and in his grief when he finds them dead. His motivation from there is then to avenge his family by getting rid of Commodus, who is an example of toxic masculinity in that he is a terrible leader who uses his power not for the good of the empire but for the good of himself, is abusive towards the people in his life, and is overall a coward.

Maximus, though he is a warrior, is also merciful. In the scene where he fights against Tigris the Gaul, he spares his life whereas most would’ve killed him. He understands that they are both slaves being pitted against each other against their will and respects Tigris for fighting well, leading to his decision. This does a lot to win the people to his side, making Commodus resent him more and makes us (the audience), root for this hero as he shows humanity even to his opponents.

#2: Historical Accuracy

One thing that Ridley Scott does really well in his movies is make them look historically accurate and this movie is a great example of that. The costumes and set pieces looked accurate to the period (except for Maximus’s helmet which just looked decorative and not like anything any gladiator would’ve actually worn) and really sold that the people were in ancient Rome. However, the actual historicity of the movie wasn’t great though it took from real-life aspects of the Roman Empire.

Commodus did love gladiator games, even participating in some of them. He became co-emperor at 16 in 177, though he didn’t become the sole emperor until 180 A.D. Though his reign saw less war than his father’s, there was a lot more political turmoil and intrigue. He would often leave affairs of state to his buddies, especially to his chamberlain and a guy named Soaterus. The economy under Commodus started going to hell in a handbasket and his rule became increasingly arbitrary and capricious as he threw lavish parties, paid for through taxing the senate. As he participated in gladiatorial events (where his opponents would often submit and resign themselves to being killed), shot animals in the arena from his box, and demanded to be seen as the hero Hercules (even going so far as to say he was Jupiter’s son), the people became more and more frustrated, leading to a series of conspiracies and attempted coups, making Commodus more and more dictatorial, which we see in part in the movie. Finally, when his mistress, Marcia found that she and several other people were on a list to be executed, she and two other people poisoned Commodus and when that didn’t work, they had his wrestling partner, Narcissus, strangle him to death while he was taking a bath. Not exactly as dramatic as his death in the movie.

The portrayal of the afterlife was also incorrect as Maximus talks about going to the fields of Asphodel, which was where you went in Greeco/Roman mythology if you didn’t do much in your life other than exist and go about your day-to-day business, not doing anything particularly evil or good. Heroes such as Maximus would be going to Elysium, which was for the people who did a lot of good. However, it works for the story since he gets to meet the spirits of his family in Asphodel, and it ties up the story nicely.

#3: The Score

The score for Gladiator was composed by Hans Zimmerman, the same guy who worked on the score for Harry Potter, The Lion King, Pirates of the Carribean, and others. It was voted as one of the best movie soundtracks of all time, being up there with Lord of the Rings and Star Wars, and it’s easy to see why. It perfectly carries the story on it’s shoulders, highlighting the most impactful scenes and adding to the suspense.

This movie gets a 10/10 from me.

Until next time,

M.J.