Gladiator poster

Gladiator (2000)

Film · 2h 35m · Rated R

Action, Adventure, Drama

A betrayed general fights for honor in the brutal Roman arena, fueled by vengeance and sorrow.

Epic and suspenseful. A full-attention watch at a measured pace. Emotionally it is devastating.

85
Must Watch
CouchRot Score, from 12 cinephile ratings

Streaming on Netflix, Paramount+, Kanopy (free) and Hoopla (free).

Gladiator parents guide

It stays inside its R, with moderate sex and nudity, and brutal violence.

Scare
Not scary
Jump scares
None noted
Gore
Graphic gore
Blood and wounds shown clearly.
Violence
Brutal violence
Our top level for violence.
Sex and nudity
Moderate
Moderate means a sex scene or nudity on screen, even brief, or sexual violence that is described or implied but never shown.
Language
Moderate
Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

How gory is Gladiator?
Graphic gore and brutal violence. If graphic gore is a dealbreaker, skip it.
What is Gladiator rated, and is it OK for kids?
Rated R, and it earns it: moderate sex and nudity, brutal violence, and some strong language. Not one for kids.
ConfidenceDialing In
12 ratings deep. Getting dialed in.
ConsensusMostly Agree
DividedNear unanimous
How the 12 ratings land
0
Skip It
0
Not Great
0
Decent
6
Really Good
6
Must Watch

What is Gladiator about?

After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, his devious son takes power and demotes Maximus, one of Rome's most capable generals who Marcus preferred. Eventually, Maximus is forced to become a gladiator and battle to the death against other men for the amusement of paying audiences.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

Bittersweet. It earns its ending, but not everyone gets what they want.

Cast and crew

Directed byRidley Scott
StarringRussell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi

More like Gladiator

Gladiator is on our Most violent, Tearjerkers, Epics, Revenge and Best Picture winners lists.

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Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.