Revenge is a dish best served cold, and nobody serves it
more chillingly than Russell Crowe, who barely raises his
voice as he avenges his wife and son by bringing down an
empire. Buried beneath the swordplay is some modern satire
about our age of media spectacle (and how political power is
won and lost by manipulating the masses through
entertainment), and director Ridley Scott shoots the film
like a contemporary, digital-video war movie. But really,
this Best Picture Oscar-winner is pretty much only about
old-fashioned ass-kicking. "Are you not
entertained?" Crowe demands. Yes, yes we are.