From the opening scene where, as general Maximus on the battlefield, he hurls himself against the raggle-taggle Hun hordes, to the ensuing saga where he slashes, chops and slices his bloody way up the gladiatorial food chain, Russell Crowe is every inch the Roman hard man. "I am gladiator," he intones, having just minced some of Rome's prizefighters before a bloodlusting crowd. Anyone want to disagree?

In his interviews, Crowe has said that working on this film was physically exhausting. You can see why - think Braveheart with twice as much clobbering and hand-to-hand fighting. Although nothing gruesome enough to push it over the 15 certificate threshold.

It is to his credit as an actor that even playing such a physical, bloody part Crowe retains such sympathy. He personifies the dignified stoical Roman and yet as that vulnerable, eyes down look he does reminds you, there's a sensitive lad under that armour.

As the rather formulaic storyline unfolds we learn that Maximus is also a husband and father, who would rather be farming his fields in Spain than bloodying his hands on the battelfield. It is is the kind of line that could so easily have fallen flat, but Crowe's performance lifts it out of mundanity.

The cinematography is large and lavish. Ridley Scott uses lush bleached-out effects for dream sequences (one is reminded of the end of Ratcatcher) and thanks to some digital trickery Rome is conjured up on an epic scale. I didn't even mind the way the film uses digitalised effects for the many combat sequences where the action is speeded up. Although I was reminded of some bad martial arts movies at first, it seems to capture the hurly burly of battle.

There are also some excellent support roles, notably Oliver Reed's final performance (he died while shooting the film in Malta) as a growling, gladiator master is one of his best in years. Connie Nielson (who recently appeared in Mission to Mars) plays the enigmatic sister to her odious emperor brother, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix).

Phoenix has the uneviable task of creating a bad guy to match Crowe's gladiator. He falls well short. His character lacks the nerve to carry through his machiavellian machinations, he suffers from headaches and his lust for his sister puts him way out of reach of audience sympathy. At times, he is in danger of becoming less a character and more of a plot device: some of the Commodus scenes seem to crawl along. But then again, after the excitement of watching Maximus dispatching more contenders, you might be glad to get a breather in.

One last thing - this is definitely a big picture film. See it at the cinema, preferably at a crowded cinema to appreciate the full gladiatorial experience.