Entertainment
Russell Crowe’s Oscar-Winning Historical Epic Finds a New Streaming Home Next Month
Academy Award winner Russell Crowe is currently back in theaters, producing a top-quality performance in his World War II movie, Nuremberg. As infamous Nazi Hermann Göring, Crowe is commanding in every scene, helping the film towards its 96% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes and outside shouts for an Oscar nomination. For those who have indulged in this stellar turn from Crowe in the theaters and are craving another of his many performances, you’re in luck, as the actor’s very best is about to head to a new streaming site.
As of December 1, the swords-and-sandals epic Gladiator is joining streaming site Starz. The film that won Crowe his first and only Academy Award for Best Actor to date, alongside two other nominations, Gladiator also boasts pitch-perfect performances from both Joaquin Phoenix and Connie Nielsen, and is one of the best 21st-century directorial efforts from the great Ridley Scott. The film won five Academy Awards in total, including the coveted Best Picture prize, and is “certified fresh” on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes with an 80% critics’ score. A synopsis of this epic action movie reads:
“Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) takes power and strips rank from Maximus (Russell Crowe), one of the favored generals of his predecessor and father, Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the great stoical philosopher. Maximus is then relegated to fighting to the death in the gladiator arenas.”
The ‘Gladiator’ Sequel Didn’t Live Up to Its Predecessor
Despite Scott returning to the director’s chair and stars like Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington at his scenery-chewing best, as well as an enormous $250 million budget, 2024’s long-awaited legacy sequel Gladiator II was an underwhelming return to the Oscar-winning historical tale. Failing to break the all-important $500 million boundary at the box office, the sequel also fell short at the Academy Awards, picking up just one nomination for Best Costume Design.
“Gladiator II can’t live up to the lofty expectations Gladiator set up, yet the sequel is at its best when it tries to carve its own path in this Roman world,” Collider’s Ross Bonaime wrote in his review of the movie last year. “Maybe the action would be as enthralling as the political aspects if it didn’t also feel like a rehash of what we’d seen back in 2000,” he continued, adding, “Gladiator II will leave you entertained, but leave you with an unfortunate feeling of déjà vu.”
Gladiator is streaming on Starz this December. Stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.
- Release Date
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May 5, 2000
- Runtime
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155 minutes
- Writers
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David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson
