Rotten
The mixture may be slightly unexpected, but it still manages to be predictable all the way.
Janet Maslin, New York Times
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Gladiator
Overview
Tommy Riley has moved with his dad to Chicago from a 'nice place'. He keeps to himself, goes to school. However, after a street fight, he's noticed and quickly falls into the world of illegal underground boxing — where punches can kill.
Director and cast
- Rowdy Herrington Director
- James Marshall as Tommy Riley
- T.E. Russell as Spits (Leroy)
- Cuba Gooding Jr. as Abraham Lincoln Haines
- Robert Loggia as Pappy Jack
- Brian Dennehy as Jimmy Horn
- Ossie Davis as Noah
- Cara Buono as Dawn
- Richard Lexsee as Father in Park
- John Heard as John Riley
- Jon Seda as Romano
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
31%
Tomatometer
Fresh
The idea of the Dennehy's illegal boxing arena is a storytelling masterstroke; it explains the small crowds at the same time it permits the boxers to fight dirty.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Rotten
Let's make things perfectly clear. Gladiator is utter trash masquerading as an action picture with a message.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Rotten
The screenplay, contrived to suit the genre, is likewise replete with stock characters.
Rita Kempley, Washington Post
Fresh
Marshall makes a promising feature debut; and Herrington, pushing beyond the expected triumph-of-the-underdog cliches, underpins the crowd-pleasing Rocky-style fight action with some unobtrusive social comment and confident visual storytelling.
Time Out
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