For almost eight years Bill Clinton has attempted (unsuccessfully, thankfully) to build a legacy by co-opting efforts from previous presidents: From Ronald Reagan this, from Richard M. Nixon that. From Thomas Jefferson that, from FDR this.
Ad nauseum, ad infinitum.
Now comes "Gladiator" (which Al Gore praises and Clinton loves), and the exact same thing: From "Ben-Hur" this, from "Spartacus" that. From "Rocky" this, from "Quo Vadis" that.
Ad nauseum, ad infinitum.
There are numerous problems with "Gladiator", with the most apparent possibly being the film looks like it was printed down, out of focus: Muddy, fuzzy, annoyingly soft and indistinctive.
The colors seem to want to suggest Gordon Willis' work in "The Godfather" trilogy, but come across as a very watered-down version or half-handed homage of same; there seems to be a purposeful intent to have shot on overcast days.
Which may, in some demented way by of the efforts from director Ridley Scott, go to present the characters--bitter, depressive, vengful, petty--and to hide the obviousness of the special effects.
The story line of "Gladiator" smacks of "Rocky" (the original, only): The hero of the story, a general from Spain named Maximus (Russell Crowe), is a favorite of the dying emperor, Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris).
Why is he held in such high regard? He defeats the barbarians. So Marcus names him protector of Rome.
But he is left for dead by Marcus' son, his rival, Commodus.
Huh? Don't ask.
Maximus survives and escapes Commodus' tyranny. But finds his wife and son have been murdered.
Maximus makes his way to the deserts of North Africa, where he is sold as a slave to Proximo (Oliver Reed, who died while the film was being made), a manager of gladiators.
Now this seems odd, but wait. Here's the logic: Commodus, now ruler, lifts his late father's ban on gladiators in Rome so as to distract the people from hunger and disease.
(Who does that sound like? If you said 'Clinton', well, your days are numbered, because no one says bad things about him, The Great White Father, that he be.)
Because the ban is lifted Maximus returns to Rome, and fights his way to the top of the gladiator heap, and, well, that's the end of the movie.
This plot, this premise, this story could have been good, rousing, macho entertainment. It was. As "Ben-Hur". As "Spartacus". Here it comes across as utter nonsense, heaped over with overlywrought melodramatics and very bad acting.
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