psalas98

I hate to agree with the other reviewers on this but I think it's true that casting can make or break a movie, and Mascal as the lead just didn't cut it. He doesn't carry the same gravitas as Russell Crow, nor do the emperors in this film come anywhere close to Joaquin Phoenix's performance in the original.

I wish the backstory had been explored in more detail. The connection between Lucilla and Lucius never really latched for me because they didn't go into depth on what actually happened. A quick overview on how Gata and Calcutta rose to power after Commodus' death was needed as well.

Overall I enjoyed the film and I like the fact that they went for a more complex plot that is still tied to true historical events. But without enough backstory it felt rushed and eventually chaotic.

Too long of a movie. The first half should have been cut much shorter and then this movie would have been really beautiful. The second half of the movie, when they actually get to the Apollo missions, was intense, engaging, and visually stunning, and I'd recommend it for that.