Good article. Gladiator is a pretty good sword and sandals pic, borrowing the best elements of Spartacus, Quo Vadis, Ben Hur, and The Fall of the Roman Empire (especially the latter, as it is more or less a remake). I do think it has a great cast, and Joaquin Phoenix is terrific.

I think all the great Roman Empire pics contain a certain amount of chin-stroking pontification over "What is Rome?" ie benevolent republic versus cruel dictatorship, and Commodus obviously leans towards the latter end of the spectrum. So yes, I agree the film explores the dangerous lure of power in interesting ways.