Gladiator Of Heaven

How Men Lead

The opening scene in Gladiator and the last scene in Kingdom of Heaven are two of the best battle scenes in any war movies. They are an unbelievable display of organization, C.G.I. graphics, and directing. Gladiator follows the story of Maximus (Russell Crowe) who is a general of Rome, who after this opening battle scene, is lost and thought dead. He must fight his way back to the city and becomes a gladiator in the Coliseum in Rome. He is up against an evil dictator who does all in his power to stop Maximus and hold the throne which is rightly for Maximus. On the other side there is Kingdom of Heaven which follows the saga of Balian (Orlando Bloom) as he battles the Muslims for control of Jerusalem. He must lead an army of villagers against an immense army which threatens to destroy everyone he knows. The opening scene in Gladiator and the last scene in Kingdom Of Heaven show the will and define the two main characters at their highest points of achievement and leadership in the two films.

There are many differences between the two leaders at it is shown in the two scenes. In Gladiator the opening scene in the movie where he is the leader of the expansive Roman army, is actually the end of his career as a general. He has been general for years battling the crazy army from the north and for Maximus this is the high point in his career as a general and a leader. After the scene is over he is lost and must find his way back to Rome. However in Kingdom of Heaven, this is the birth of a leader, one without much experience and who must learn to become a leader if he wants to save his people. And this is the main difference their level of experience. They both however have this leadership in their blood and it is prevalent on the battlefield where they display heroics and unify their men in the midst of completely chaotic scenes. As they are both in the heat of the biggest battles of their lives and are completely in control of the whole situation it reveals what these men are and what type of characters they have been throughout the movies. In a war games sense on one hand there is Gladiator where the fight is an invasion led by Maximus trying to take land where on the other hand in Kingdom of Heaven it is a situation of defense where they must protect what little they have left from a massive invasion. As James Berardinelli stated in a review for Kingdom of Heaven, "Kingdom of Heaven is similar to Gladiator in many ways, with large, violent battle scenes and instances of great human courage and sacrifice, proving that not all that much changed between the time of the Roman Empire and the Crusades." These scenes give a great peek in to the minds of the men and why they are considered such great leaders. They are different and similar in this sense and the scenes show this exactly.

There are the similarities in the two leaders when they rally their troops for example, and give them speeches about fighting for their country. Both of them truly believe in their cause and their people. Both of them are also fighting for their family which in the case of Balian has been killed and he has been knighted to succeed him on the throne and as leader of his people. In Maximus's case he is fighting for the chance to go home and see his wife and son who are the most important thing to him. And what fuels both of these characters in these scenes is just this, the passion brought about by defending the honor of his people and more importantly his family. This is what drives the plot in Gladiator setting the scene for the movie as Maximus is defined as a character in the ferocity of his fighting and will to win. It is even more prevalent in Kingdom of Heaven where Balian who has been building the will, skills, and courage to fight and find himself as a leader throughout the movie. He does this the noble way probably the most important trait these two characters posses. Both men are unscathed by the corruption which surrounds and looks to infest and destroy each characters morals. They must stick to what they believe in for this is the only way to rise above the evil and remain the respected leaders their men and families know they are. As