The Movie Gladiator in Historical Perspective - Essay Example

of the Action Films Action movie is interesting to watch for many people because it provide the audiences with electrifying excitement, present a hero to emulate, and it is easy to comprehend for all range of viewers. I would pay ten dollars to watch action packed movies; it gives the same excitement just as a roller coaster ride. As a girl, it is that rush of sudden adrenaline that I look forward to experience. When one goes through a loop on a roller coaster, there is that quick burst of energy which I relate to thrills I obtain from watching car chasing, neck breaking, and explosions scenes from action films. Same as a roller coaster, action movie paints color to our lives in a way that it avoids that constant boredom in life. Besides acting as a stimulator, it provides us with heroes who we can help identify with and shape our lives (Welsh & James, 2000). For instance Captain America, Iron Man, Jackie Chan and Rambo has been the hero in the movie they feature, and many have always looked at them as role models. The actors have an interesting way of portraying the character as good guys versus bad guys, and it is enthralling to see social justice being fulfilled where the hero wins against the villains. Arguably, these heroes are what that makes the viewer keep returning to the movie time after time. So whether it is Jackie Chan using his fist of fury or Rambo causing havoc upon enemies or Terminator battling another killing machine, these are the things that people are waiting to see when they are at seat of their favorite movie theatre. The movie The Gladiator and The Avengers are not short of action episodes with enthralling actions filling most part of the movies. The Gladiator exposes us to a hero Maximus Decimus Meridius who leads the Roman army to a important victory against Germanic tribes that helps ends a long-standing war. This makes him win the favor of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius for his show of might in the battlefield (Ward & Allen, 2001). It is heroic act during the battlefield that convinces the Emperor to choose him as a successor to his son as the possible suitor to save Rome from corruption. This decision does not go well with Marcus Aurelius, the emperor’s son and leaves him in despair. Soon enough he commits suicide, and the Emperor maintains his choice for the successor. After the death of his son, the emperor questions Maximus for his loyalty and suspects foul play that lead him to refuse to hand over the throne to Maximus. There Emperor orders him to be arrested and executed in the morning but manages to escape before he is executed in the morning. Fearing for his family life, he returns to his land only to find them killed. He buries them, but he gets too subdued by grief. A slave caravan was passing by captures him and takes him to his master who then sell him to a man named Proximo who trains him to be a gladiator. After the betrayal by the Emperor, he comes back and takes revenge for his loss of the family members. Needless to say, the whole film is filled with action that keep the audience guessing what would happen next. The same action filled scenes are epitomizing The Avenger; there is extraterrestrial race known as Chitauri that have the powerful energy source of unknown potential. Their leader, Other promises Asgardian Loki, one of the villains an army that can subjugate the Earth in exchange for retrieving the Tesseract. Nick Fury who acts as the director of the espionage agency S.H.I.E.L.D together with his lieutenant Agent Maria Hill arrives at a remote research facility which is being headed by physicist Dr. Erik Selvig with his research team to unravel the mystery of the Tesseract. In the meanwhile, the Tesseract activates and opens a warmhole that allows Loki reach the earth and takes Selving and some of his agent such Clint Barton as slaves. The Avengers become divided both over the revelation that S.H.I.E.L.D plans to harness the Tesseract in order to develop weapons that can be used to discourage the hostile extraterrestrials. There is a series of attacks that happens as the group attempt to find a way to fight the extraterrestrials. The engine is destroyed in the process though they manage to depower Loki by knocking him unconscious. These attacks that claims live of some members of the team lead to various hero to unite against the common enemy. Fury rather uses Coulson’s death to motivate the Avenger into one active team that can be used to fight off the extraterrestrials. Later, Rogers and Stark realizes that for Loki, just be defeating them will never be enough; there is an essence to defeat them in public and validate themselves as ruler of the Earth. In the same time, Loki uses the Tesseract together with the device Selvig built opening a warmhole above Stark Tower to the Chitauri, which empowers him to launch an attack. The hero fights back and manages to disintegrate the Tesseract. These actions has much in common. They present hero(s) that help fight off the enemies. In The Gladiator, the hero helps to fight of the Roman win against the German side with his amazing capability to neutralize the enemies. In the fight scene, he slaughters the army on the other side to earn the team the victory and end the battle between the Romans and the German tribes. After the extraterrestrial race invades the Earth, Nick and other teams of experts conducts a series of an experiment to neutralize the superpowers that are as a result of the Tesseract (Michael, 2012). The fight is far from over at first with the extraterrestrial race proving too hard to contain. It was until the death of several members of the team that the hero unites to slay these monsters. Just as in any action movie, both films are also filled with twists and turns that keep the audience stuck in the seat and glued to the screen waiting for what to happen next. After the Gladiator becomes the love of the people and the Emperor, the audience awaits his leadership of the Rome. But the neck-breaking, swords fighting and bizarre actions never gets short of this film when Emperor changes his mind and orders Maximus Decimus Meridius to be arrested and be executed. The hero aspect of Maximus Decimus Meridius is amplified again when he manages to escape from prison before dawn that was the time he was to be prosecuted. There are differences too in these two films. For instance in The Gladiator, there is one hero while, in The Avenger, there are many hero who unites to fight the common extraterrestrial race. Maximus Decimus Meridius becomes the love of the people and the Emperor after his efforts helps fight the enemies and win a long-standing war between Germans tribe and the Romans. So many armies throws themselves in the battle fighting for their leaders, and he becomes the army who stands heads tall. On the other hand, The Avenger has many hero who unites together to defeat the extraterrestrial enemies. The setting of the Gladiator takes a historical perspective whereby the Romans fights the Germans tribe to end a long-standing war. The Emperor has organized his own army to fend off the enemies and in this particular case, Maximus Decimus Meridius heads the army to the victory and becomes Emperor, favorite choice for a successor. After winning a very decisive battle, Maximus Decimus Meridius leapfrog the Emperor son to be the next to govern Rome and help root corruption (Ward & Allen, 2001). The Avenger takes the form of a fiction movie. There is the extraterrestrial race that invades the earth with their superpower energy. There is the various team that are affected and unites towards fighting this common enemy. In conclusion, choosing a favorite action movie can make the day and help the kill the boredom. Some ideas that tried and true are the Avengers and the Gladiator. For the Avenger, everyone is dressed in their favorite character. Talk of the Hulk, Iron man or Captain America. The thrilling episodes in the film make it worthwhile to watch. For Gladiator, it let your imagination run wild. There is a lot of history in the movie and so many turns and twist such that it would be close to impossible to imagine what would happen next. If you just don’t want a movie, these two are some of the excellent choices when it comes to action filled films. References OConnell, Michael (March 16, 2012). "Marvel Sets The Avengers World Premiere for April 11". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on March 19, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2012 Ward, Allen (2001), "The Movie Gladiator in Historical Perspective", Classics Technology Center (AbleMedia), retrieved 2007-01-26 Welsh, James M. "Action films: The serious, The ironic, The postmodern." Film genre 2000: New critical essays (2000): 161-76. Read More