Rome on the Screen (Gladiator)

The movie starts with a war being fought between two large armies. The Romans and the Barbarians battle and it appears to be a dominant victory for the Romans. After the Romans win the war the emperor of Rome Marcus Aurelius tells the main character Maximus that he wants him to take his place once he passes away. Maximus is a general in the roman army and is loved for his great bravery and leadership. The hope is that Maximus will turn Rome back into a republic and give power to the senate.

The only problem with this plan is that Marcus Aurelius son Commodus believes he should be taking his fathers place. Once Commodus finds out this fathers plan to make Maximus emperor he kills his father before Maximus can be appointed and Commodus is now emperor. Maximus escapes death, has his family killed, and is exiled. He becomes a slave in North Africa and eventually fights as a gladiator. With all of his experience as a general, he becomes famous for his performances. He eventually becomes so famous that he gets back into Rome and fights Commodus in the last scene. He kills Commodus and gives power back to the senate making Rome a republic again. Maximus dies from his last fight but has fulfilled his request from Marcus Aurelius.

Overall we really enjoyed watching this film. The opening scene gave us an idea of how wars were fought in live action rather than just reading about them. We were a bit surprised at how little loyalty was shown from Commodus when killing his father. We also did not expect Commodus to be in love with his sister. In The end we thought the story line of Maximus losing his family and starting from nothing was very sad but his rise back to power was inspirational and our favorite part of the film.