Gladiator

En mastodontfilm helt enkelt, av gammalt Hollywood-snitt - alla pengarna finns på duken, som det brukar heta.

Mycket vilja och en hel del själ samsas med spektakulära stridscener och idealtypisk romarjargong i en väl lång med ofta oerhört underhållande blockbuster.

In the grandest tradition of them all, Ridley Scott, together with man of the moment Russell Crowe, has enriched the legacy of sandals, swords and leather wrist thingees to create a magnificent epic.

When Commodus lifts his late father's ban on gladiators in Rome, in an attempt to distract the people from hunger and plagues, Maximus slashes his way to the top, and the movie ends, of course, with the Big Fight.

It is monumental movie-making: visually thrilling, technically astonishing, and emotionally engaging.