Both grand tragedy and grandiose soap opera, director Ridley Scott’s Roman warrior epic is irresistibly stunning – even if part of you recoils at the film’s inherent bloodlust. Russell Crowe brings an actor’s communicative range to what’s essentially a Schwarzenegger role; you can feel the vengeful anger that accompanies each swing of his blade. All together, this is a brutal movie, but the brutality has such a mythical grandeur that it occasionally resembles beauty.