GLADIATOR (2000) **1/2 Richard Harris is killed by an overflowing Commodus, tragically as he's the only interesting aspect of the first 45 minutes of this film. Of course the problem with Harris is always that he was such an interesting person that, even while doing a fine portrayal of Caesar or Dumbledore, you know he would be even more entertaining just being himself. Dreamworks pumped big bucks into this baby, that much is obvious immediately, and for a long time it seems that their hagglers got ripped off in every department. Then a strange thing happens. Just when the film has satisfactorily demonstrated that it's nothing but a bunch of well-financed poseurs playing at epic heights so far beyond their reach that they surely can't even see what they're looking up at...it doesn't get there, but it does turn interesting. Russell Crowe lacks gravitas but he's gruff in the good fight scenes, and verbally profiles well on occasion. Ridley Scott wands some spectacular shots, he just doesn't have any idea of how to play them, or what to do with the rest of the film. Oliver Reed is great, great, but since Harris has been washed by the time he shows up there's never any hope of a brilliant dialogue. It gets interesting enough to enjoy, but there's a terrible sadness in recognizing the film that they had the elements to make. Imagine this montage sequence: Crowe whacks a guy in a duck helmet over the head with his sword/Harris slams a jigger of brandy/Crowe whacks a guy in a cow helmet with a truncheon/migratory birds scatter over a stone wall in a blue field/Crowe kicks two centurions in the balls at the same time/Ollie beer bongs two litres of Guinness/shattered moons explode into voluminous orange/Harris hammers a bottle of Jack Daniels/Crowe cuts off someone's head/Ollie barfs back a trough of tequila/the head bounces off the wall as Harris pops open a pint for the road/the wall levitates/Reed leaps up behind Harris opening two pints for the road/the head is immersed in an effervescent liquid solution riddled with photovoltaic imagery. Gladiating Drinkers: they had the dream team and they let it get away. And the bar bill probably wouldn't have cost much more than all the other special effects. Cheers, mates!
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