'GLADIATOR' DOES GLORIOUS BATTLE.

Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic

A grand and glorious adventure saga, ``Gladiator'' marks the triumphant return of the Roman Empire epic, a genre that ``Cleopatra'' killed more than 30 years ago. Now, with ``Gladiator,'' look for the Empire to strike back in a big way. Director Ridley Scott has delivered a rousing spectacle, full of jaw-dropping battle scenes and exciting arena action.

An outstanding cast, led by Russell Crowe in a star-making performance, ground the pageantry with a rich and raw humanity. Quite simply,``Gladiator'' is the best movie of the year, kick-starting the summer movie season with a feast for the eyes and ears.

The film's greatness lies in its execution, not its originality. The movie borrows from its predecessors, most notably ``Ben-Hur,'' ``Spartacus'' and ``The Fall of the Roman Empire.'' (At least screenwriters David Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson had the good sense to steal from the best.) Source material in hand, Scott boldly takes the genre's formulas in the 21st century, using state-of-the-art digital effects to reinvent Rome in all of its extravagant glory. Much like ``Saving Private Ryan'' resuscitated the war genre, ``Gladiator'' sweeps the sword-and-sandals epic into fresh, ferocious territory.

Anthony Mann's 1964 epic ``The Fall of the Roman Empire'' provides ``Gladiator'' with its historical point of departure. In A.D. 180, Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) and his Roman army are in the forests of Germania, fighting one last battle to secure the empire's vast boundaries. Led by the celebrated general Maximus (Crowe), the Romans defeat the barbarians in a savage engagement, and the weary soldiers begin to dream of returning home.

The ailing emperor has other plans for Maximus, however. Marcus loves Maximus more than his own son, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), a schemer whom he regards unworthy of being emperor. (When Commodus arrives at the battlefield, just after the Romans have emerged victorious, he asks his father: ``Have I missed the battle?'' Marcus: ``You missed the war.'') Marcus charges Maximus as Protector of Rome until the Republic can be again established. Commodus aims to make sure that doesn't happen.

``Gladiator'' certainly isn't meant as a history lesson (you might learn more walking through the Caesars Palace casino), but there is a depth to the movie that's typically missing from big-budget fare. When the film shifts into revenge mode, cinematographer John Mathieson's lyrical, haunting landscapes bring to mind the work of the great Sergio Leone. And when Maximus' lot in life goes from general to gladiator, the movie gives us a Rome that features teeming streets and a partially reconstructed Colosseum that's packed with computer-generated extras.

This is big, daring, smart filmmaking, full of intrigue and action, and it's made all the more thrilling by the excellent cast. Crowe has been great before (``L.A. Confidential,'' ``The Insider,'' among others), but ``Gladiator'' provides him with a showcase unlike any film on his resume. He infuses Maximus with an inescapable intelligence behind the baleful stare, and his work in the movie's many action scenes is astonishing. Forget about the other combatants; one senses the tigers are at a disadvantage with this guy in the ring.

``Gladiator'' is full of fine acting: Phoenix chews up scenery with glee as the neurotic would-be emperor, and Connie Nielsen plays his conflicted sister (and, gulp, love interest) with a splendid noble bearing. Harris commands every scene he appears in, and Oliver Reed, who died of a heart attack three weeks before production ended, has a grand time playing Proximo, the gladiator impresario who helps Maximus literally return from the dead. Reed couldn't have picked a better swan song.

``Gladiator'' isn't perfect. Its third act takes a little too long to get going, and the movie probably could have lost 10 minutes and been the better for it. Still, one doesn't quibble seriously with entertainment this striking. The summer games have begun in a most impressive fashion.

The facts

--The film: ``Gladiator'' (R; for intense, graphic combat violence).

--The stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, Richard Harris, Derek Jacobi, Djimon Hounsou.

--Behind the scenes: Directed by Ridley Scott. Screenplay by David Franzoni, John Logan and William Nicholson. Released by DreamWorks Pictures.

--Running time: Two hours, 30 minutes.

--Playing: Citywide.

--Our rating: Four stars.

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Photo: It's survival of the fittest as Russell Crowe, left, and Djimon Hounsou aid each other in the Colosseum ring in ``Gladiator.''