Ridley Scott’s 2000 historical epic “Gladiator” — based very, very, very loosely on real history — follows a fictional Roman military commander named Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) who suffers a long string of terrible tragedies.
Maximus is poised to be the next Roman emperor, but the sniveling, Richard III-like Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) usurps the throne instead.
Maximus is arrested for not pledging loyalty, but evades capture and flees home …
only to find that his wife and child have been crucified.
Maximus is then kidnapped by slave traders and sold into the gladiatorial arena.
He now has to murder others to stay alive and keep his true identity secret, all while Commodus becomes more and more corrupt. Eventually, at the end of a 155-minute movie, Commodus is punished for his evil.
Maximus, however, also dies while fighting the villain.
Justice is done, and Maximus can finally succumb to mourning.
The…
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