Once Maximus arrives back in the city as a captive and the audience had a glimpse of "Rome" itself I was out-of-patience with the film. What a terrible way to waste sooo much money!! As for the story of Braveheart I honestly don't know the facts from fiction- but the story was entertaining and the small details gave the viewer a much more "real" understanding of the film's subjects and their way of life.
The thing that always bothered me about gladiator was it's undeserving popularity with audiences. Russel Crow is a decent actor at times but the plot was flat, predictable, and obviously 'dumbed-down' to accomodate a lazy audience...
I can forgive Braveheart for its historical flaws because the direction was good- the story (though romantisized a great deal) was good- and the performances in the film were good. Gladiator, on the other hand, is rubbish... and not only do I believe it's the worst of the two films historically, but as far as big-budget productions go it was a pure waste!!