Ridley Scott’s Gladiator dominated the 00s with $465.4M on the field workplace. Its most brutal second? Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) murdering his father, Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris). Aurelius selected Maximus (Russell Crowe) as his inheritor, crushing Commodus’ ego and igniting a Shakespearean spiral of betrayal.
Vulnerability at its peak, he confessed his insecurities to his father. He admitted he lacked the virtues of an awesome chief—knowledge, temperance, and power. However don’t be fooled. That emotional openness morphed into cold-blooded rage. Commodus’ fumbling, chaotic assault on Aurelius wasn’t a calculated coup however pure desperation. He crushed the outdated emperor’s chest, suffocating him. The intimacy of all of it? Chilling.
Joaquin Phoenix didn’t play Commodus like a cartoon villain. As a substitute, he introduced layers of insecurity and longing. You might nearly sympathize with him—till he crossed each line conceivable. That complexity is why Commodus nonetheless ranks as considered one of cinema’s biggest antagonists.
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This scene doesn’t simply function a plot level; it defines all the film. The fallout of Aurelius’ homicide units Maximus on his path of revenge, pushing him from a celebrated common to an enslaved Gladiator. Gladiator is Maximus’ story, however Commodus’ betrayal provides it tooth.
Right here’s the place historical past takes the brutality to a different degree. In actual life, Commodus’ finish was even messier than his Gladiator counterpart. The precise Roman emperor, notorious for his God-complex and political ineptitude, was poisoned by his mistress. When the poison didn’t work, his wrestling associate Narcissus stepped in—to strangle him. There was no emotional last showdown. Only a humiliating bath-time betrayal.
Scott’s determination to tweak historical past for the movie’s climax paid off. In Gladiator, Commodus’ demise was extra poetic—he was killed by Maximus in a last struggle, with the Praetorian Guard turning their backs on their emperor.
It’s no marvel Gladiator left such a mark. The movie wasn’t nearly epic battles or political intrigue; it delved into messy human feelings. That’s why Commodus’ homicide of his father hits more durable than any sword struggle.
And now, years later, with Gladiator 2 simply aired, it’s the proper time to revisit this brutal basic. In any case, nobody does treachery and tragedy like historic Rome—and Ridley Scott.
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