Gladiator

Seriously the best fantasy film of the modern area with great acting and emotional rollercoastering all the way through. The soundtrack by Zimmer really propels this film

Gladiator is the best bread and circus. A moving and very entertaining action epic with Russel Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix at the top of their game.

I absolutely love Joaquin Phoenix in this movie. He's the kind of villain you love to hate. So pathetic and childish. So ruthless and creepy. Just right amount of cartoonish. I wanted to punch him in the face.

It can be corny and it drags a bit during the escape plan part of the plot, but it has enough emotion and brutal violence to keep the audience entertained, and that's what a good gladiator match should be.

Gladiator is a historical epic from director Ridley Scott. After being betrayed by the new Caesar, Roman general Maximus is sold into slavery as a gladiator where he rises to fame as a people's champion and finds an opportunity to exact his revenge. Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, and Connie Nielsen lead the cast and deliver strong performances. Additionally, the gladiator fights are especially dynamic and exciting, featuring several different styles of combat. The costumes and sets are also remarkably well-done, and create a vivid depiction of ancient Rome. And, Hans Zimmer's score does an excellent job at capturing the tone of the film. Thrilling and action-packed, Gladiator delivers a compelling tale. "Are you not entertained?!"

20 years on, the first DVD I bought is still a barnstorming, thrilling ride. There's so much to recommend this - Lisa Gerrard & Hans Zimmer's iconic score, the canny casting of Joaquin Phoenix as a foil for Crowe; the realisation that I quote this film in everyday conversation far more than I thought I did. If it should have won the Oscars is a moot point - this is another of Ridley Scott's superb worldbuilding - one of his primary film-making skills, giving us a Rome that feels recognisable yet still a break from the cliché's that had seeped in to popular culture before this. That the film's status was boosted by the DVD boom as it made its way to home release is undeniable, but this remains a film that thrills, absorbs and grips.

"Are you not entertained?!?!"

One of the most perfect movies ever made. The pacing, the characterization & development. Hans Zimmer's score. John Mathieson's cinematography. Career-making acting from Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, & Djimon Hounsou. Everything is on point.

This movie is an integral part of Ridley Scott's holy trinity, along with Blade Runner & Alien. Endlessly rewatchable. Endlessly quotable. An epic tragedy on the level of Shakespeare & Ancient Greece.

This movie will be just as popular a hundred years from now, and no movie about Ancient Rome will have topped it.