Russell Crowe’s Beloved Historical Epic Officially Conquers Netflix

There are very few movie moments more iconic than Russell Crowe standing in the middle of the Colosseum and demanding to know whether everybody is entertained, especially when the answer is so obviously yes. More than 25 years after Ridley Scott first brought Ancient Rome to life, audiences can finally revisit the movie that started it all without having to leave their sofas.

Gladiator has officially arrived on Netflix in the United States, joining Gladiator II on the streaming service 26 years after its original theatrical release in May 2000. Gladiator takes place in 180 CE and is loosely based on historical figures. Roman forces, led by the general Maximus (Crowe), defeat Germanic tribes, bringing temporary peace to the Roman Empire. The emperor, Marcus Aurelius, tells Maximus that he would like Maximus to succeed him upon his death, and for Maximus to return power to the Senate, restoring the Roman Republic. However, when Marcus Aurelius tells his arrogant and unstable son Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) about the plan, Commodus flies into a rage and kills his father.

After taking the throne, Commodus orders Maximus and his family to be killed, but the former general manages to escape and makes his way back to his home in Spain. Unfortunately, he arrives too late, discovering that his wife and son have already been murdered and their home destroyed. With nothing left to live for, Maximus is captured by slave traders and taken to North Africa, where he is sold to gladiator trainer Proximo. Known simply as the Spaniard, Maximus quickly proves himself to be a formidable fighter, rising through the ranks and becoming one of Proximo’s most valuable gladiators, giving himself the chance to take his vengeance when Commodus orders a gladiatorial spectacle.

The cast is led by Crowe (A Beautiful Mind) and Phoenix (Joker), alongside Connie Nielsen (Wonder Woman) as Lucilla, Oliver Reed (Oliver!) as Proximo, Richard Harris (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone) as Marcus Aurelius, Djimon Hounsou (Blood Diamond) as Juba, Derek Jacobi (I, Claudius) as Senator Gracchus, and Ralf Möller (The Scorpion King) as Hagen.

Your answers have pointed to one action hero above all others. This is the person built to have your back — for better or considerably, spectacularly worse.

Your partner doesn’t talk much, doesn’t need to, and will have assessed every threat in your immediate environment before you’ve finished your first sentence. John Rambo is not a man of plans or politics — he is a force of nature shaped by survival, loyalty, and a capacity for endurance that goes beyond anything training can produce. He will not leave you behind. He has never left anyone behind who deserved to come home. What you get with Rambo is the most capable, most quietly ferocious partner imaginable — one who has been through things that would have broken anyone else, and who chose to keep going anyway. You’ll never need to ask if he has your back. You’ll just know.

Your partner will arrive perfectly dressed, perfectly briefed, and with a cover story so convincing it’ll take you a moment to remember what’s actually true. James Bond is the most professionally dangerous person in any room he enters — and the most disarmingly charming, which is the point. He operates in a world of layers, where nothing is what it appears and every advantage is used without apology. You’ll never be bored. You’ll occasionally be furious. But when it matters — when the mission is genuinely on the line and the margin for error has collapsed to nothing — Bond is exactly the partner you want. He has survived things that have no business being survivable. He does it with style. That is not nothing.

Your partner will know the history, the language, the cultural context, and exactly why the thing everyone else is ignoring is actually the most important thing in the room. Indiana Jones is brilliant, reckless, and occasionally impossible — but he is also one of the most resourceful, most genuinely knowledgeable partners you could find yourself beside. He approaches every situation with a scholar’s eye and a brawler’s instinct, which is an unusual combination and a remarkably effective one. He hates snakes and gets personally attached to objects of historical significance, both of which will slow you down at least once. It doesn’t matter. What Indy brings is irreplaceable — and the adventures you’ll have together will be the kind people write books about. Assuming you survive them.

Your partner was not supposed to be here. He does not have the right equipment, the right information, or anything approaching the right odds. He has a sarcastic remark and an absolute refusal to accept that the situation is as bad as it looks. John McClane is the greatest accidental hero in the history of action cinema — a man whose superpower is stubbornness, whose contingency plan is improvisation, and whose capacity to absorb punishment and keep moving would be alarming if it weren’t so useful. He will complain the entire time. He will make it significantly more chaotic than it needed to be. And he will absolutely, unconditionally, without question come through when it counts. Yippee-ki-yay.

Your partner has already run seventeen scenarios by the time you’ve finished reading the briefing, and the plan he’s settled on involves at least two things that should be physically impossible. Ethan Hunt operates at the absolute edge of human capability — technically, physically, and intellectually — and he brings the same relentless precision to protecting his partners that he brings to dismantling organisations that shouldn’t exist. He is not easy to know and he will never fully tell you everything. But he will carry the weight of the mission so completely, so absolutely, that your job is simply to trust him — and the remarkable thing is that trusting him always turns out to be the right call. The mission will be impossible. He will complete it anyway.

How Successful Was ‘Gladiator’?

Gladiator became one of the biggest movies of 2000, earning $187.7 million domestically and $277.8 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $465.5 million. The movie also became a major awards contender, winning five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe, while Scott received a nomination for Best Director.

Gladiator and Gladiator II are streaming now on Netflix in the United States.

Gladiator

In ancient Rome, after the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, loyal general Maximus is betrayed and sentenced to death by the new emperor, Commodus. Escaping execution, Maximus is enslaved and forced to fight as a gladiator, where his skills and honor lead him toward a path of vengeance and redemption.