It's been itching at me to make this article. I'm so disappointed in my generation and their "taste" in films. While yes, I got not a lot of room to talk because I do like, "Dude, where's my car". It's more of a guilty pleasure than anything. My problem with my generation is at 16 (will be 17 tomorrow), almost no one my age has ever heard of Gladiator. It's ridiculous. I ask them why. I'll get responses like "I never heard of it" or "My parents thought it was stupid, so I never watched it". But, the response is mostly the first one. To be honest, I want to punch them in the face for it. It's not cause Gladiator is one of my all time favorite films. But, it's because they have never heard of such a great movie. It saddens me alot. This is five reasons why, Gladiator, is a film that should be mentioned to this day.
5: It's simply put, a gorgeous film.
I love the look of the film. I don't mean the setting, I mean the sheer look of the film. Particularly the cinematography. It's simply gorgeous. It really puts you in those times and it helps make it such an engrossing film despite it's length.
4: It's Ridley Scott.
The heading alone says it all. It's Ridley Scott. If someone asks who, just bring up the following: Alien, Blade Runner, Black Hawk Down, Robin Hood and Prometheus. It should ring a bell in their head. Especially the last two, if you're asking someone my age. Not to mention, people my age do like the Academy Awards. So, bring up the fact that it was nominated for five academy awards and one of the wins included Best Picture.
3: It's a true epic
When people think of epic these days, they think of big fight scenes. They think of the final battle in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 (which, I found the film to be a epic), the Transformers films, ect. They don't seem to understand what an epic is. I don't need to describe what an epic is because Gladiator is a film that is a true epic. It resurrected historical epics.
2: It's got real acting
Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of movies with good acting in them. But, I think this has amazing acting. I mean, it does have an impressive ensemble. Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Richard Harris (R.I.P), Dijmon Hounsou, ect. I think Crowe and Phoenix are the standouts. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't know who they are with the exception of Russell Crowe. Well, unless you ask people my age who he is. They'll probably tell you "I don't know"..... god my generation sucks.
1: It actually has a good plot
A lot of films these days have either a plot that is okay, cliche or just flat out unappealing. Nothing is original anymore either. Gladiator is original and has a VERY good plot. A general who became a salve, a slave who became a gladiator, a gladiator who defied an empire. It's pretty simple and interesting. The sad part being that it's only one of the films taglines and it's main one at that. Not a lot of films have even a good tagline. If you don't have a good story, it will never be a good film. This one has a great story and is a fantastic film.
This being said, I'm overly disappointed in my generations lack of what makes a good film and they're lack of knowledge that this film even exists. What do you think? Should Gladiator be a film that people mention still to this day or be a film better forgotten? Comment below and be respectful please.