Gladiator
Two Chicago teenagers enter an exploitative underground boxing circuit, where friendship, poverty, and family debt collide in a fight for survival.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Brutal
- tense
- gritty
- urgent
- sports movie night
- 90s movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly regarded the film as an indifferent and conventional boxing drama despite its committed performances and action elements.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Tommy Riley enters illegal boxing to save his father's life and repay gambling debts, while Abraham Lincoln Haines fights to escape poverty.
Tommy and Spits become friends while a boxing promoter profits from their vulnerability and ultimately places them in opposition.
The teenage boxers are controlled and financially exploited by an underground boxing promoter.
Training, tournament bouts, fistfights, and the climactic survival match make the ring the film's central dramatic space.
Films like Gladiator, and why
The Great White Hype
shared boxing drama, exploited young fighters, racial tension, and working-class social conflict
Rocky
shared sports drama structure, underdog ambition, mentorship, and harsh economic pressure
Juice
shared teenage protagonists, urban marginalization, racial tension, and confrontational coming-of-age drama
Movie Details
- Director
- Rowdy Herrington
- Release Date
- 1992-03-06
- Runtime
- 101 min
- Rating
- 7.6 / 10 (424)
Cast
- James Marshall
- T.E. Russell
- Cuba Gooding Jr.
- Robert Loggia
- Brian Dennehy
- Ossie Davis
- Cara Buono
- Richard Lexsee
- John Heard
- Jon Seda
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Gladiator about?
- Two Chicago teenagers enter an exploitative underground boxing circuit, where friendship, poverty, and family debt collide in a fight for survival.
- What is Gladiator like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Gladiator as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Gladiator violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Gladiator as brutal.
- What did critics think of Gladiator?
- Critics broadly regarded the film as an indifferent and conventional boxing drama despite its committed performances and action elements.
- Which films are like Gladiator?
- Films with a similar feel include The Great White Hype, Rocky, and Juice.
- How long is Gladiator?
- Gladiator runs 101 minutes.
- Where can I watch Gladiator?
- In United States, Gladiator streams on Sony Pictures Core Amazon Channel, Howdy Amazon Channel.
