History Film / Gladiator

** Curb-Stomp Cushion: [[spoiler:Commodus gets owned by Maximus and killed relatively quickly, but not before fatally wounding him.]]

* Curb-Stomp Cushion [[Spoiler: Commodus gets owned by Maximus and killed relatively quickly, but not before fatally wounding him.]]

* {{Curb-Stomp Cushion}}: ||Spoiler: Commodus gets owned by Maximus and killed relatively quickly, but not before fatally wounding him.||

* {{Flynning}}: This is lampshaded; in the gladiator training camp scene, the instructor tells the student, "this is how you fight", and starts showing him the "Pirate Halves" move. It's also justified -- gladiators were essentially entertainers, as well as fighters. Maximus, a former professional soldier, was told off for being too efficient as he naturally went straight for the killing move.

-> ''[[Main/MyNameIsInigoMontoya "My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the armies of the north, general of the Felix Legions. Loyal servant to the true Emperor, Marcus Aurelius.]]'' ''[[Main/YouKilledMyFather Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife.]]'' ''[[Main/{{Revenge}} And I will have my vengeance,]]'' [[Main/PrepareToDie in this life or the next."]]''

[[caption-width-right:350:''[-"ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?"-]'']]

-> ''"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the armies of the north, general of the Felix Legions. Loyal servant to the true Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next."'''

* ArtImitatesArt: The paintings of Creator/LawrenceAlmaTadema served as a central inspiration for the film's production designers. His influence can be seen in the lavish sets and Janty Yates' costume designs, particularly for Lucilla.

A sequel is officially in the works, with Ridley Scott returning at the helm. It reportedly takes place about twenty years after the end of the first film, at the time of Emperor Caracalla. It is set for release on November 22, 2024.

This film is not to be confused with the proto-superheroic 1930 book ''Literature/{{Gladiator}}'', the TV gameshow ''Series/{{Gladiators}}'', the [[VideoGame/{{Gladiator}} Taito arcade game]], the [[VideoGame/TheGladiator Taiwanese arcade game]] or the 1992 boxing drama of the same name.

A sequel is officially in the works, with Ridley Scott returning at the helm. It reportedly takes place at the time of Emperor Caracalla and is set for release on November 22, 2024.

In AD 180 at the time of UsefulNotes/{{the Roman Empire}}, General Maximus Decimus Meridius (Creator/RussellCrowe) is named heir to the ailing Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Creator/RichardHarris), who wishes that Rome be restored to a republic with the Senate ruling as the representative of the people. The Emperor's mad son, Commodus (Creator/JoaquinPhoenix), sees things differently: he murders his father, declares himself to be the new Emperor, and orders that Maximus be killed when the general refuses to pledge loyalty to him. Maximus escapes his fate, but unfortunately for him, his wife and young son do not. Maximus swears to avenge their deaths and join them soon after; wandering around the countryside, he is soon found and brought into slavery.

A sequel is in development according to Ridley Scott.

* CrowdPleaser: Proximo has fond memories of his finest battles in the greatest of Rome's amphitheaters in his youth. He also keeps reminding Maximus that the crowd want a show, not a simple quick slaughter, and that he must win the crowd's favour.

* WellDoneSonGuy: Emperor Marcus Aurelius thinks poorly of his son, Commodus. In fact, he thinks so poorly that he's giving the throne to Maximus. Naturally, Commodus takes this very hard and kills him over it.

** Had Crowe got away with it, he would have mimicked Creator/AntonioBanderas' accent for the part as a reference to Maximus' Spanish origin, even though there is no way a Hispano-Roman would have sounded like that.[[note]]Though the idea is actually [[AluminiumChristmasTrees not without merit]]: it is recorded that Emperor Hadrian's Spanish accent made the Roman senators laugh.[[/note]]

* AluminumChristmasTrees:
** Commodus deciding to fight a gladiator in the arena looks like a plot device to let Maximus get his revenge. The historical Commodus ''did'' actually fight in gladiator contests, although it isn't how he died.
** For people less familiar with the lives of Roman emperors, Commodus having a dramatic and poetic end in the movie seems like a plot device added so that such a vile character gets his comeuppance. The actual Commodus also had a pretty dramatic and poetic end that wasn't too far removed from the film, being assassinated by his own wrestling partner at the urging of his own mistress and a few others, although it wasn't done in public like in the movie.
** The writers planned to have a scene with popular gladiators endorsing products, which happened historically, but it was decided that audiences would think it was unrealistic.

* CrusadingWidower: Maximus losses both his wife ''and'' his child early in the film. It certainly gives him motivation.

This film is not to be confused with the proto-superheroic 1930 book ''Literature/{{Gladiator}}'', the TV gameshow ''Series/{{Gladiators}}'', or the 1992 boxing drama of the same name.

* AwesomeMcCoolname: Maximus Decimus Meridius is an example of an AwesomeMcCoolname with actual justification due to the Roman system of ''cognomina'', or titles/official nicknames. His given name is Decimus (at one point his family name is given as Aelius), Maximus was a common ''cognomen'' used by many other RealLife renowned Roman commanders, and Meridius probably refers either to past conquests in the South or his Spanish heritage (technically the names are in the wrong order, and should be Decimus Aelius Maximus Meridius). In English, he would possibly be [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Decimus Aelius the Great, Conqueror of the South]].

** The Roman shieldwall during the opening battle advances relatively well, albeit made crooked by the uneven terrain, but comes apart almost immediately when the Germans smash into it. Realistically speaking, the Romans would have stayed in formation throughout the fighting or been massacred.

** The Roman legions were trained to fight as a regimented force, and to maintain formation for mutual support. In the film, the formation collapses instantly upon contact with the enemy. This would have almost certainly led to a Roman defeat, as, on a solo basis, the barbarians were by far the better warriors. Further, the Roman legions used spears called pila. Doctrine called for them to be thrown while the enemy closed. The Romans would then draw their swords and fight, while remaining in formation. Though the Romans are shown holding their pila in the opening scenes, they are never used against the barbarians, and we see no pila-riddled shields and/or corpses in the background.