JoyOfMovies.com: Movie Review of Gladiator

"Gladiator": the reluctant warrior
By Kevin Reynolds
All right, movie-watchers. I know our beloved Steve has already reviewed this film and given it his normal, routine, everyday criticism ... crabby and cynical. Hey, don't blame me. Let's face it, the guy is just flat out bitter sometimes (just kidding, Steve). Anyway, recently my best friend bought a DVD player, two movies, and a new Playstation game all on a whim. Ahhhh, to be single and financially unhindered again. One of those films was my beloved comic book heroes, "X-Men." The other was "Gladiator."
Before we jump right in, I would like to say that as much as I love Steve and his reviews, I am probably as far to the other end of the spectrum on this film as is possible to be. He found it lacking in spiritual significance after starting strong. I, however, found it full of eternal hints and Christian symbolism. But for the time being, I am focusing on only one of those.
It was late at night, as are almost all of my events and movie-watching sessions are with this friend, when we kicked in the disk and settled in to watch what's being called by some the movie of the year. Now, when I say late, I mean late, like two in the morning late (keep in mind this movie is almost three hours long). I was tired, sleepy, and just plain ready to curl up in my Scooby Doo comforter and hit the sack (just kidding, I don't really have a Scooby Doo comforter ... yet). But, because of all the hype and Steve's pessimistic review that was entirely too focused on historical accuracy (jab, jab!), I found myself ready and willing to throw any hope of a decent night's rest out the window.
To set the stage for those of you who have not seen the film, Russell Crowe is the lead character, a Roman war General and commander of the northern armies. Actually, he is apparently the greatest currently active Roman General, impressive enough to catch the eye of Caesar, an old man who's seen the error of the Roman political system and wishes to find someone who will give Rome back to the people when he is gone. Good 'ol Russell Crowe is his guy. Unfortunately, Caesar's son, a cowardly rich-boy bent on total dictatorship, is obviously unhappy by his father's scorn. To make a long story short, Crowe is supposed to wrest control of Rome from his clutches. But, what we can find especially interesting in this film is Crowe's character, Maximus, as described by his men early on.
When mingling with the crowd after a victorious battle, a comment is made concerning Maximus's life outside of war. He is said to be a farmer and his perfect eternity will be harvesting his crops on his small, simple farm in the middle of nowhere with his family. Of course, the men can't believe it. One even says he cannot imagine the great Maximus of war as a farmer. It just doesn't fit his character as they see it.
After this scene, we are given flashes all through the rest of the film of Maximus walking through his fields with his hand brushing over the top of what appears to be wheat. These flashes are intermittently spaced and appear more or less at random, lasting only about four or five seconds, but these few seconds, coupled with the earlier crowd scene give us an insightful and key look into the true Maximus. This is where the spiritual part comes in.
In Christianity, we tend to see God as this all-powerful, wrathful being who destroyed Pharaoh and the Egyptians, who sent the flood and decimated Sodom and Gomorrah, and who came to Earth as Christ, died and then battled and defeated Lucifer. You know what, God did do all of that. But that is not the true heart of God, the one He wishes us to know. I have heard two people in the last week tell me they are tired of people talking "love love love" in relation to God. They are sick of people thinking of God as a god of love and not a God of wrath. "God will hold you accountable!" they say. "People just think they can get away with anything!" they scream. This alone saddens me. They are so far off. Because God is also the god who created the beauty that is this universe. He walked hand in hand through Eden with us. He healed the sick and made the blind see. And he comforted those who needed comforting. He loved those whom He loved. When others were stoning Stephen, He was by his side. When man wished to punish and throw the first stone, He wished to forgive and love. The phrase "make love, not war" came not from the sixties, it came from God. Here is Maximus.
It is so unbelievable to his fellow soldiers that Maximus is anything but a destroyer of life and a warlord. They do not know his true heart as we are shown by the filmmaker through the many glimpses of him in his fields. He is a cultivator of life who loves planting it, helping it grow, and then bringing it home to be with him and his family in his house, just as he does with the crops of his field. So, too, is the heart of God.
God loves to create us and watch us grow, helping us along with love and care when we need it, and sometimes when we don't. And, he loves to bring us home. We forget this because all we see is the warlord. As a matter of fact, that is the reason many Jews could not accept Jesus as the messiah. They expected a warlord who would lead them to victory on Earth. But, He was not a warlord. War was only a necessary function He performed because of the presence of evil in the world. This is similar to what Maximus does. In his day, all Roman men were forced into military service. Therefore, he did what he did out of necessity, not because it showed his true heart. His true heart was in cultivation of life with his family. This is the God we love and know, and He wishes to feed our lives with the same love. We need only to see and welcome it. The wrath is necessary. The love is freely given.