Impressive tale from the days of the Roman Empire, with Crowe as a dedicated soldier who refuses to transfer his loyalty to the new emperor, Commodus (Phoenix) and suffers the consequences, winding up a gladiator in the Roman Colosseum. Crowe is so good-and his character so compelling-that one is willing to forgive story lulls; the spectacle is grand, but the opening battle scene stresses chaos over coherence. Reed's last film; he died during production.