Best director: ridley scott - Gladiator Reviews

No one ever deserved to win the Best Director Oscar more than Ridley Scott did for this movie. Although it won the Best Picture Oscar, he didn't receive the Best Director award. I was most impressed by the opening battle scene in 'Germanicus', it was incredibly realistic. Visually, this movie is one of the best of all time. I do think Russell Crowe is a bit overrated as an actor, the movie might have been even better with someone else in his role, but, that said, he wasn't too bad. Joaquin Phoenix tended to overact, and this caused the Commodus character to lose some of his credibility. Some parts of the screenwriting left something to be desired. Some of the dialogue was hackneyed. The story would have been much better if if fit in with history more accurately. Some parts didn't make sense - how did Maximus get from Germanicus to Spain so easily, seriously wounded and all? It's a long way, on foot. Why did the slave traders find him there, and take him despite his very bad condition? The part where the princely child comes and treats him as a sports hero seemed rather silly. But overall - with the great costumes and the awesome action scenes - this was a very entertaining movie.