1. I have seen The Gladiator about 5 times now, but it never ceases to amuse me. It is one of my favorite movies of all time and I will continue to watch it when the opportunity presents itself. I really like how it depicts ancient Rome. It looks like ancient Rome as I imagine it, and even the colosseum seems like an exact replica of the real thing. The costumes, architecture, and weapons make me feel like I am watching a real gladiator battle and not an improvised, cheaply replicated battle. I definitely support the amount of blood and violence in the movie because it adds a sense of realness and maturity to the battles and overall plot. I wish Gladiator was 100% historically accurate and based on a real person (not several), or even historically accurate in the way Commodus dies. Besides these scarce inaccuracies, the movie portrays the ancient Roman Empire very well. The movie made me love the hero Maximus and despise the emperor Commodus. This is what the movie intended to do and it does it very well. When watching the movie, I personally admire Maximus for being brave and seeking revenge. This is another reason why I love The Gladiator so much. Overall The Gladiator is a great historical movie and it can't get much better than the action packed, bloody, gladiator battles.

2. I believe the moral of the story is that perseverance and passion, is something successful hero's possess. Maximus could have died many times through-out the movie but his desire to stay alive and get revenge on the emperor, helped him persevere through the most difficult of challenges. There are many movies based on hero's and their actions, but The Gladiator is unique in the way it portrays a hero. In The Gladiator, a slave, who has no social power over the emperor, can still be a hero and take down an emperor like Commodus. This is why the hero theme of The Gladiator is unique to movies of a similar theme.