Are you not entertained by another Gladiator Acta?
Gladiator begins with the roman General Maximus leading his army to victory against the germanic tribes. After the battle, the emperor, Marcus Aurelius, tells Maximus that he believes that his son, Commodus, is unfit to rule and wants Maximus to succeed him. Maximus asks for time to consider his offer, which Aurelius understands. In the meantime, he goes to tell Commodus of his intentions, who, instead of being understanding like Aurelius expects, kills Aurelius on the spot. Commodus declares himself the new emperor to the public, and asks for Maximus’ loyalty, which he refuses to give. Commodus puts Maximus under arrest and sends his men to go to Maximus’ home and kill his family as punishment. Maximus is put to death but in secret, and Maximus is able to fight his way out and escape his captors. He manages to make it back to his home and bury his family, but collapses from his injuries. Some slavers find Maximus and take him away, where he is sold to the gladiator trainer Proximo.
Maximus fights in local tournaments and shows and gains popularity. When Proximo takes his gladiators to Rome to fight in the Colosseum for Commodus’ special event, Maximus wears a mask to hide his identity. Proximo’s gladiators, including Maximus, are told to fight in a reenactment of the Battle of Zama on the side of the Cartheginians, who historically lose. However, Maximus leads his friends to victory, and Commodus enters the arena to offer his congratulations. He asks Maximus to remove his mask, which he reluctantly complies to. Commodus reels at seeing Maximus alive but is not able to demand he be killed on the spot because of the crowd. Maximus swears he will get his revenge. Commodus tries to kill Maximus by giving him increasingly more difficult gladiator fights, but Maximus wins them all while also becoming even more popular among the Roman people.
This whole movie has not been very historically accurate, but the ending is especially ridiculous. After Maximus is convinced to try to take Rome by force in a conspiracy from Commodus, the plan is leaked by Lucilla’s son and Commodus’ nephew, and Commodus successfully prevents the conspiracy. Instead of handling this in private like a rational being, Commodus challenges Maximus to a duel in the Colosseum to try to regain the favor of the people, which would just never happen realistically. Commodus stabs Maximus in the back before the fight to gain the upper hand, but even still, Maximus prevails. Maximus ultimately succumbs to his wounds, but he is able to call for the gladiators to be freed and Senator Graccus to become the new emperor in Commodus’ place, ultimately completing the goals of the conspiracy. Ultimately, the movie felt more like a story that the writers wrote and then framed in the context of Rome for popularity rather than taking real inspiration from history.
