Impressive, But Mindless ‘Gladiator’ Looks Great, But The Storyline Is Less Than Satisfying

Emphasizing brawn over brain and spectacle over intimacy, Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator” nevertheless is an impressive accomplishment in its re-creation not only of the golden age of the Roman Empire but of the unspeakable brutality with which one of the world’s greatest states conducted its business.

Following up on his recent Best Actor nomination, Russell Crowe solidly anchors this epic-scale gladiator movie — the first in nearly four decades — by using his burly frame and expressive face to give dimension to what might otherwise have been comic book heroics.

Like the Caesars, who commanded vast armies and ruled much of the world’s population, director Scott marshals the resources of a cast of thousands, colossal sets, exquisite costuming and graphic imaging to paint in the details of a credible though sometimes geographically confusing depiction of the Roman Empire.

Although the physically daunting production at times threatens to overwhelm the implausible tale, Crowe and several actors, most notably the late Oliver Reed, Connie Nielsen and, in an extended cameo, Richard Harris, never let the human dimension get lost.

The screenplay formulates a startlingly simplistic good-vs.-evil scenario. It also asks an audience to swallow the idea of Rome’s greatest general becoming almost overnight a slave and then a gladiator. Then again, in the second century of the Christian era, the Empire was a pretty crazy place.

The movie opens circa 180 A.D. as Crowe’s General Maximus undertakes the final battle of his three-year campaign in the northernmost reaches of the Empire.

As the smoke of battle clears, the movie’s main characters are revealed. The dying emperor himself is unaccountably on hand, the white-maned Marcus Aurelius (Harris). Waxing philosophical about a rule where virtue and wisdom is overshadowed by constant warfare, Marcus lays bare his unhappiness about the corruption of Rome.

He informs Maximus, his wastrel though ambitious son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) and his much wiser daughter Lucilla (Nielsen) of his intention to pass over his son to appoint Maximus as Protector of Rome. However, Commodus makes certain the old man dies before those wishes are widely known. He declares himself emperor before the body is cold then orders Maximus’ immediate death.

Escaping execution, Maximus makes his way seemingly overnight — locations are vague throughout — to his home where he finds his family destroyed. Gravely injured himself, he falls into the hands of a slaver, Proximo (Reed), who turns him into a gladiator along with fellow slave Juba (Djimon Hounsou).

Meanwhile, Commodus, implausibly unaware of Maximus’ survival, arrives in triumph back in Rome where he indulges himself in all manner of villainies. To take the populace’s minds off his evil designs, he restores the gladiator games.

Soon enough, Maximus, who has covered himself in glory in games in the provinces, gets called up to the big leagues. Arriving in Rome, he aims to achieve greatness in the arena, win the hearts of Romans and challenge the emperor himself, the man he has vowed to destroy.

Neither Scott nor his writers seem the least put off by the flatness of this moral universe. Crowe’s warrior embodies all that is good in the Roman ideal — where strength is found in honor and one remains loyal to a higher morality thaan political power. Phoenix’s tyrant, on the other hand, is a sniveling and indolent punk, snarling his every line of dialogue and incapable of even the slightest glimpse of anything reflecting his noble lineage.

Nielsen’s Lucilla is more confusing than complex, while the late Reed’s ex-gladiator-turned-slaver emerges as one of the film’s more interesting figures — a man of practicality who, as practical men are often wont to do, proves to be a man of more honor than one might initially think.

But it is Crowe who dominates, a sexy and decisive man of action, bloodied but never bowed. Crowe is fast on his way to becoming a movie star.

The sets recreate a splendid Rome, and the stunt work is a thrilling, unimaginable choreography of men, weapons, chariots and wild animals down to the smallest details.

Which pinpoints Scott’s problem: His movie is impressive in scope, but like the gladiator games themselves, designed for mindless spectacle to please the multitudes.

“Gladiator” * Locations: River Park Square, Spokane Valley Mall cinemas * Credits: Directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Richard Harris, Djimon Hounsou, Connie Nielsen, Derek Jacobi, Oliver Reed * Running time: 2:30 * Rating: R