the audience applauded

Charming and brutal

A waste of 90 minutes of my life

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

The Gladiator is the third film i've seen from New York auteur Abel Ferrara. Although this film happens to be set in California it retains all the same visual stylistic choices from his New York films. The Gladiator is yet another film that i find Incredibly divisive, and has done little too sway my opinion of him from either being a hack or a genius.The film stars Ken Wahl as Rick Benton, a revenge fuelled vigilante. After the death of his brother to a crazed motorist that is in the midst of a murderous rampage. Benton takes to patrolling the roads of San Francisco in his modified pick up truck, using the call sign Gladiator. He does so to ensure the roads are kept safe from inept drivers, whilst simultaneously hunting for his brothers killer.The Gladiator is essentially Death Wish on wheels, and nothing much else. The script is your typical vigilante drama, as the stoic Benton goes through every cliché known to man. That is until his inevitable showdown with his brothers killer. Usually this would bother me in most films of this ilk though Iv'e come to accept this macho style of film-making from Ferrara. Whilst the film is thin on characterisation, it's never regarded as the focus of the film.There's something though about Ferrara's film-making that i can't quite put my finger on. It's no secret that his films don't look very good, and most of them have a televisual feel to them alongside, at times unintelligible audio. However they completely suck me into his world. All of his films have this underlying, stoic, brooding atmosphere, that i find intoxicating. Ferrara is able to bring his films to life in ways that few directors can. His night-shots, despite the poor, indie quality of the cameras, look beautiful, much like the work of Michael Mann or Katheryn Bigelow.Nearly all his films are divisive and rough around the edges. This film is more straight forward, then most of his others films such-as: Bad Lieutenant, The Driller Killer etc. Whilst i respect and even at times admire his low budget, guerrilla style of film-making, it's not enough to save this film from it's poor, under-cooked screenplay, and bland characters.

Wonderful and rewarding film. The film is about how a simple, good guy decided to restore order on the roads, the reason for this was the death of his brother. He breaks the cars of drunk drivers, leaving them for police. His car is equipped with special devices. The main goal, to find the killer of his brother. Movie impressive car chases and stunts, as well as music and songs. Cast is worthy. The main character wants to empathize. The girlfriend of the main character Susan is also a very interesting character, it helps Rick cope with depression, she broadcaster, has commented on the development of the story in the course of the film. The movie is saturated dialogs and dramatic moments.Soulful and entertaining film.

A nutter in a black car is causing hit and runs throughout town, but he picked on the wrong guy when he caused the death of that guy out of the Wanderers. This guy, a mechanic who only wanted his kid brother to grow up and get out of town with a good job, is understandably mental with revenge, soups up his flat bed truck with all kind of gadgets, and goes out on the streets to get justice! He calls himself The Gladiator and has a gizmo ridden car that disable drink drivers. The public think he's great, but most of the cops don't, and they begin to think that he may be behind all the killings out on the highways. Will our hero catch his prey, or will the hit and run guy go on wasting good old American folks? Well, this is a TV movie, so don't expect gore and violence. Then again, it's directed by Abel Ferrarra, so it's no walk in the park either. Although lacking in violence, Abel makes up for it with many car chases and an excellent showdown in the a junkyard between the gadget truck and the gadget death car. It's good enough for a TV movie, I'll say that, and has a bit of heart about it too. A nice time waster.

The Gladiator (1986) made for TV movie really dose get a great job done and teaches us a lesson. The car that was used in this movie by the psychopath who was driving black 69 Dodge. The similar car was later used in TV movie Wheels of Terror with Joanna Cassidy in the main role. I thought The Gladiator movie used the car as maniac murder by Wheels of Terror but i was wrong. Wheels of Terror used the story of the car from this movie. I watched Abel Ferrara 's movie when i was a child and it was really good awesome movie. Haven't seen this movie for about 15.years until today, i watch it the first time on YouTube someone upload it.Ken Wahl and Nancy Allen made outstanding terrific cast as the main actor and actress in this movie. The Gladiator (1986) is a decent road action flick that made a job well done. I wish that today they would make movies like this now. The most shocking is when the psycho push and hit Rick and Jeff in the truck and Rick's younger brother dies. That could be true because so many people died like on this way on a road when accident happened, it really did shocked me, than his brother put that anger and become a vigilante and a road warrior "The Gladiator" seeking justice. Chasing the most dangerous drunk drivers that cost accidents on a road and kill so many innocent people and cops call's The Gladiator a criminal? I am lost if The Gladiator really would exist he could stop drunk criminals. 2.years ago in Slovenia second main city Maribor a young fellow drive drunk and was speeding he drove out of the road went to the plant his car jump off the grass in the air and he hit a young mother who was pregnant at the time with her second child. All what he got was 2.years and 1.month of prison and that murderer did not even apologize to the family of victims, no he didn't. After he woke up with a little injuries in his head and realizing what he did he took his plate off the car and fled the crime scene. He did not call ambulance not police officers or fireman's zero. He let the poor young mama dieing in cold blood. Slovenia is horrible you can do anything here , in my country there is no justice and if The Gladiator really would exist, he would stop this psycho murderer yes he would. I am giving this movie higher rank even for 80's action drama flick I am glad i watch this movie and i can download from torrents.Another thing: I said before The Gladiator teach us a lesson and i am right, drunk driving is dead dangerous. I watched another movie in 80's License to Kill not a Bond film but a Drama movie with Denzel Washington who he was playing a young lawyer who was prosecuting a drunk driver murderer who caused a car accident and killed a young graduate teenage girl and who was getting away with it. They were showing us what someone who is drunk can do behind the wheels. That movie was really great i watched 2.years ago on TV i missed the beginning but i went watching it anyway. Today drunk driving nobody takes serious nobody.I watched Death Proof Quentin Tarantino's film and it is the most boring stupidest unreal movie ever made, it dose not compare to this movie. I so so so wish they would still make movies like this today. I miss the 80's The Gladiator really touched me and i will watch this movie again. 10/10