Gladiator Revenge

Gladiator, though not the most intellectually stimulating film of this decade, was deeper and more complex than one might gather from it at first glance. Its theme was not a simple "good-guy versus bad-guy" one as one might gather from the title. In fact, Gladiator in essence had very little to do with gladiators. Its real purpose, its real underlying flavor, was to depict a man 's struggle against decadence in his society and to restore it to the disciplined one that it had been, a man who was driven not by outlandish ideals, but by down-to-earth loyalties and affections.

The plot of this film is relatively simple. Marcus Aurelius, empreror of Rome at the time, asks Maximus, his favorite general, to become emperor after his death and eventually
He is more bitter at this point than in the beginning of the movie, but that is not due to his new station in life. Rather, it is because of the death of his wife and son.

The death of Maximus ' family was a product of Commodus ' actions, Commodus being representative of the more decadent parts of Roman society ("Commodus," n.pag). Seeking revenge for his family could indirectly be translated into restoring the Senate to Rome, and vice versa. On top of that, Maximus felt he had to fullfill Marcus Aurelius ' wishes. This is where his struggle against society is rooted: it is not rooted in his idealizations of how Rome should be, but rather on his personal promises and vendettas alike.

There is more of interest to Maximus personally than his family and the late emperor. Maximus has an affinity for Lucila, though it is not necessarily an erotic one. Another driving force behind his motives to restore Rome to the Senate is his sense of responsibility for Lucila and, in particular, her
To protect himself, he holds Lucila 's son hostage and threatens his life if Lucila does not turn the plan over to him. Her first loyalty being to her son and her primary interests being in his health and well-being, she succumbs to Commodus ' ploy and, through her, he foils to plan to overthrow him.

Roman soldiers, now answering to Commodus, storm the gladiator "stables" in an attempt to capture Maximus. It is in this scene that the loyalty Maximus commands becomes evident: each of his fellow gladiators, as well as his master, are willing to die for him. His loyalty to his loved ones, though not exactly reflected in the actions of Lucila, is at least matched with the undying--quite literally--loyalty of his fellow gladiators.

Maximus eventually gets a chance at revenge for his family, when he is put against Commodus in the ring. He eventually kills Commodus, after a long struggle and despite a wound he acquired previously to the tournament, but even here his actions are not cold-blooded. He does not kill Commodus in his sleep, nor does he kill him in anyh drawn out way; he kills him efficiently, and in many ways out of