Gladiator Historical Film Review

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Historical Film Review: Gladiator The film, Gladiator, was released in theaters in the year 2000. It was directed by Ridley Scott (Gladiator, 2005). The films main characters were Maximus, played by Richard Crowe, Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix, and Lucilla, played by Connie Nelson (Gladiator, 2000). The film centers on the Roman Empire in the year 180 A.D. (Gladiator, 2005) and tells the tale of a powerful and successful general, Maximus, who loses everything, only to persevere and overcome all that he has lost and win in an epic battle of good over evil. When I first watched this film I was fifteen years old and I loved it. I have continued to watch it nearly every year. It is a great film that tells a story that captures your attention from the very beginning of the movie. The action never stops and the story is one that stays with you long after the film ends. The plot focuses on a general in the Roman Empire, Maximus, who the dying Emperor of Rome, Marcus Aurelius, decides to appoint as his successor over his own son, Commodus. Commodus in a fit of jealousy murders his father then asks for Maximus to be loyal to him as he was to his father. Maximus refuses and Commodus orders Maximus and his wife and son be put to death. Maximus races home to save his family but he is too late. Full of grief Maximus is captured by slave traders and is sold to become a gladiator. He quickly becomes a favorite of the crowd; so much so that Commodus feels he has to challenge Maximus to a duel when Maximus refuses to kill another gladiator defying the order of death given by Commodus. Commodus knows that Maximus is a greater warrior then he is and has Maximus stabbed prior to the dual puncturing his lung. Maximus kills Commodus and wins the duel but lies dying on the field of the Roman Coliseum. He orders the release of the rest of the gladiators and the

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