Every Ridley Scott Movie Ranked Worst To Best

6. Gladiator (2000)

Looking back now, you could perhaps be forgiven for thinking there is something a little distasteful in the self-congratulation and the opulence of Gladiator, but it's still an entertaining gem that manages to hold the attention and capture the imagination.

It is a film of moral gods and monsters, with a pinnacle of dutiful virtue, played by Russell Crowe, clashing with an impetuous, lascivious rascal, in Joaquin Phoenix's unnervingly creepy Commodus. Nothing is subtle here and there is a particular fascination with the pomp and circumstance of Rome and the contradiction of its dehumanising blood lust that gives the action real substance.

Gladiator is a sweeping epic of the oldest tradition, with modern conventions and Scott's style bolted on confidently, merging Scott's flair for forging characters through adversity with his eye for spectacular sequences, and while Russell Crowe didn't quite deserve his Oscar, the Film itself probably did, given how many sword and sandal crimes have been committed in its wake. If they offer any lesson, it's that Gladiator could - and probably should - have been a hell of a lot worse.