Russel Crowe gives his best performance of his career. The late Richard Harris and Oliver Reed give high performances and a quality that shines timeless etherality. Joaquin Phoenix is an equal cold maddened son who's hunger and thirst for power is a vision to see.

Ik vond het einde van dit boek iets minder leuk dan het midden gedeelte van het boek maar ik eindes nooit echt leuk van boeken en films. This was pretty stunning. I knew that Superman took some elements from Doc Savage but it stole even more liberally from this, however i also saw elements of Spider-Man and many other superhero stories, there's even a little Teen Wolf too. Professor Danner is fascinated by animals that can lift multiple times their weight, jump multiple body heights and lengths, etc. He perfects a serum that can achieve that, and the incident with the cat has some humorous bits. The stronger, the greater, you are, the harder life is for you. And you're the strongest of them all, Hugo."In Rome, Commodus reopens the gladiatorial games to commemorate his father's death, declaring 150 days of celebration in a bid to win the affections of the Roman populace. Proximo's company of gladiators is hired to participate. Proximo tells Maximus that his abilities as a fighter won't be enough in Rome; he needs to win the affections of the audience. Maximus at first doesn't like the idea of playing to the crowd, but Proximo explains that it might save his life, revealing that he himself used to be a gladiator, and after gaining popularity was freed by the Emperor Marcus Aurelius -- he shows Maximus a ceremonial wooden sword he received at the time. Maximus is incredulous at first ("You knew Marcus Aurelius?"), but then realizes this strategy might get him close enough to Commodus to get his revenge.

I've always been intrigued by gladiators and the story of Spartacus, so when I saw this YA series I thought I'd give it a read just out of curiosity. Wow! Am I happy I did. Ik was dertien toen ik de Griekse mythologie ontdekte en er helemaal verslaafd aan raakte. Ik schreef mijn eigen toneelstuk, maakte een eigen gezelschapsspel en heb ook 5 jaar Grieks gevolgd. Die klik had ik met de Romeinen niet. Waar de Griekse verhalen focuste op emotie, waren de Romeinse verhalen vooral politiek en gewelddadig van aard. En dat is dan weer niet echt mijn ding. But the most significant difference is that Hugo is an outcast because of his power. This was certainly not the case for any of the above. Doc Savage, Superman and Captain America were all revered and hailed as heroes.Crowe portrays Hispano-Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed when Commodus, the ambitious son of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, murders his father and seizes the throne. Reduced to slavery, Maximus rises through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge the murders of his family and his emperor. It stars Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed (in his final role), Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel, and Richard Harris.

Marcus en zijn familie wonen op een boerderij alles is perfect. Totdat Decimus komt en zijn vader vermoord. Marcus en zijn moeder worden meegenomen en worden slaven, maar Marcus ontsnapt. Voor een korte tij was hij vrij, totdat hij weer werd gevangen door een gladiatorenhandelaar. Hij komt bij een school terecht en leert daar te vechten, maar dan is er nog Ferax. Die alles van Marcus zou afnemen als hij kon. Ook zijn leven. Zal Marcus het ooit overleven? En kan hij zijn moeder ooit nog redden van het slavenwerk? Gladiator raises many questions, beyond the usual pulpy roots of it would dictate. Wylie delves into thoughts about eugenics, religion, sex, responsibility, corruption, and class, and some of it feels quite daring for 1930. He is not subtle either, much like a really good Star Trek episode, he lays the issue out and expounds on it through the characters. You get the definitive idea that Wylie really wants discussions to happen now for something that seems not to far off in the future. For a social studies class, Gladiator is a quite a goldmine. Trying to find his way in the world, Hugo goes off to university. Many more adventures follow, with our hero hopscotching from place to place, job to job, girl to girl, you get the idea. All with the mission of fitting in, helping others, and making Earth a better world. Sideshow strongman? Interesting, but ultimately pointless. Fighting in World War Two? A good cause with brutal results. His vagabound existence showcases that with great power comes great listlessness. And some of these situations makes you feel true sorrow for Hugo, other times the ending of these phases lay squarely on his own powerful shoulders. In which all the new-fangled emotional and psychological complexity claimed for modern superhero movies is found to have been there from the startAfter being captured and sold as a slave during a bungled attempt to stow away on a ship, the hero Marcus listens to his introduction at his new residence - a gladiator training school south of Rome. "This is your new home. This is the only home you have from now on. Where you came from is no more than a memory, and it will go easer with you if you try to forget your past lives. That is all dead to you now. All that remains is to learn how to fight and survive." After this opening, the novel jumps ahead 10 years. The family has settled on an island estate only to find its fortunes fading, largely due to struggling crops from their farms. They are greatly in debt, and everything falls apart when Decimus comes calling after his money. Since none is forthcoming, Desimus decides to take it in the form of the family itself. Titus is killed and Livia and Marcus are sold into slavery. Unfortunately, they are separated with Marcus finding himself taking on the role of gladiator-in-training. I would really like to recommend this book for the people seeking adventure because this book is not only about entertainment, but it also gives us a scoop about the different aspects of Marcus's life as a gladiator and as a slave. The book also offers some facts for history lovers and for people who want to learn more about that Ancient Rome and Greek as seen on (P. 112) (chapter 12) "Unlike you Roman citizen, I was born into slavery, in an inn in the slums of Athens" and on (p. 117) "What about the others? The Thracians and the Spartans?". The first quote shows us that in the old times, Rome was a powerful country and unlike the people from Greek, they ruled over other countries. Also, the second quote shows us that later in the story, they talk more about who are the Thracians and the Spartans. There were some aspects of the plot that were a little predictable but again, it is a children's/young teen book so that's usually the case when reading as an adult. Still, while it might have been obvious what the outcome was going to be, how the story got there wasn't always as predictable. And in any case, these elements were things that you wanted to happen so it was all good. Sinopsis: Se trata de la venganza de un general de las legiones romanas llamado Máximo, el cual era tan querido por el Emperador que le quería mas que a su propio hijo, ya que ensalzaba los valores de Roma, honor, lealtad humildad.