sublime1983 Wrote:I may be one of the few, but I didn't like Gladiator. I haven't been able to finish watching it since the first time I saw it, and it was a strug back then, too. I don't know, its not a bad movie, just not even close to my top picks.
And what, might I ask are your top films? Any such list will be subjective at best, reflective of each individual's taste.
Compiling such a list is purely an excerise in fun, nothing more.
For myself, I enjoy Phoenix's work but of late he hasn't really had anything that reflects his effectiveness on screen. Commodus was a role in which he excelled bringing much villany yet a sweetness almost an a childlike innocence
to such a vile person.
I did think Gladiator was most deserving because it was a tale simply told not dressed up to offer social political commentary on the state of man as individuals as such recent films as Colleratal (a preposterous setup and that got increasingly ludicrous as the film progressed), The Manchurian Candidate (at least a bit of the film was grounded in reality but not much), Training Day (a cop so totally over the top as to be unbelievable) as well as the very disappointing King Arthur are posited to be/have done. Here was an example of marketing gone awry, highlighting a female lead, creating a warrior queen that overshone, outfought and was deemed solely responsible for the creation of the Round Table. I'm all for female empowerment but it was antagonistic to Guinvere as she has generally been thought of. If I want a warrior queen, I am awaiting Gibson's film on a somewhat well known British queen who is known to have been good with a sword.
"Are we not entertained? Is this not why we are here?"
"What we do in life echoes in eternity"
I have only seen Gladiator once (two months before it was released) and those words have stayed with me. It is rare indeed.