Gladiator

I watched the movie Gladiator, which follows the life of Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius.  It begins with the emperor telling Maximus that he should be Rome’s next emperor, as opposed to the emperor’s son, Commodus.  After hearing this, Commodus kills his father and asks for Maximus’s loyalty, to which he declines.  Commodus then has Maximus arrested, but he kills his captors and escapes to his house, where he finds his wife and kids dead.  He buries them and is then captured again and sold to a gladiator trainer named Proximo.  Commodus fights in local tournaments and is successful because of his battle skills learned as a general.  He then goes to fight in the Colosseum for the games ordered by Commodus, and he unexpectedly wins.  Commodus comes down to congratulate Maximus on his win, as he didn’t know it was him because of his mask.  When Maximus reveals himself, the crowd is in support of him, so Commodus lets him live, but he sets him up to fight Tigris, an undefeated gladiator, in his next match.  Commodus orders Maximus to kill Tigris, but Maximus does not, and he once again gains the support of the crowd, which makes Commodus very angry.

After learning that his army still supports him, Maximus secretly meets with Commodus’s sister, Lucilia, and Gracchus, who plan an escape for Maximus to join his army and take back Rome.  Commodus learns of the meeting and goes out to attack them.  Maximus escapes, but several others die in the process.  To gain back public approval, Commodus challenges Maximus to a duel.  To gain an advantage, Commodus stabs Maximus before the fight.  Maximus manages to disarm Commodus, who then pulls out a hidden knife and tries to stab Maximus.  Maximus takes the knife and stabs Commodus in the neck and kills him.  Maximus is still very hurt from his injuries, but he calls out to the people and asks for political reforms, the freedom of gladiators, and for Gracchus to be emperor.  He then dies, and Lucilia carries his body, not Commodus’s from the Colosseum.

I really liked this movie; I think it represented Rome very well, even though it is not based on a true story.  It shows the political problems and military discipline, love and treason, and hate and jealousy, all very Roman things.  Although it is long, it was very well-written, easy to follow, and engaging throughout.  The dialogue was understandable but accurate, and the battle scenes were very well filmed and very exciting.  Overall, the movie was educational and engaging, and I would watch it again.  My friends were pleasantly surprised to find themselves interested in a Roman history movie.  They thought that they would be very bored by the movie, but they thought it was captivating and not boring at all.