Continuity mistake: When Commodus tells his nephew Lucius about Roman history, the hairdo of Lucius changes a few times during the scene. (02:03:00)
Factual error: The snake with red-yellow-brown skin you see in a night-shot in Rome is a Pueblan Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum campbelli) from Mexico, also found in southern Texas. Not quite right for Rome... (02:04:15)
Revealing mistake: In the scene where the Praetorians attacks the gladiator's quarters and the gladiators are forced to fight in order to hide Maximus' escape, Hagen is shot full of arrows. Note the blocky silhouette of his torso area? What kind of padding is he wearing under that canvas jerkin? (02:07:10)
Continuity mistake: When the Gladiators are fighting the Praetorians so Maximus can escape, they stab Hagen when he is on the ground. Notice that it is in a fast forward-like time. The Praetorians are moving really fast. (02:07:10)
Revealing mistake: After Hagen has been shot and stabbed, as he falls dying to the ground, the pad the arrows are attached to on his back is quite noticeable under his shirt. (02:07:15)
Continuity mistake: Before Lucilla gets to Commodus who asks her if she knows if Gracchus has a new lover suspecting her to be his new lover, she walks by two servants. The servant on the left is looking down with his head bowed. When it cuts he is suddenly standing up straight looking after Lucilla as she walks by. (Extended version only). (02:08:35)
Continuity mistake: When Commodus screams "Am I not merciful?" in Lucilla's face, we see him holding Lucilla by her jaw bone. When it cuts his hand has moved to her chin. (02:10:05)
Continuity mistake: When Proximo is about to be killed and says "shadows and dust", the background scenery changes. It is obviously an alternate take from when he says the same thing before Maximus fights Tigris, used because of the death of Oliver Reed, but that doesn't make it any less a mistake. (02:12:15)
Continuity mistake: After Maximus comes out of the tunnel after leaving the gladiator quarters, he sees his friend Cicero. Maximus makes a bird noise to get his attention, Cicero sees him and in an attempt to warn him he yells "Maximus." He startles his horse which runs away but a noose is around his neck so he is pulled off the horse and left hanging there. As soon as the horse leaves him and he starts swinging his hands you can see they are not tied. Then when Maximus runs up to him and holds his feet up to try and save him his hands are tied up. (02:12:50)
Continuity mistake: In the final battle, there are about 20 or something Praetorians on the platform when it moves up. But when you see the platform coming up to the arena, there are suddenly enough to form the "tortoise" position; and then they have multiplied in order to arrange the circle around Commodus and Maximus (about 45 Praetorians). (02:13:05)
Continuity mistake: When Maximus grabs some earth before the final fight, you can see blood from the wound already trickle through his shirt, but when he picks up the sword it is magically gone. (02:13:55)
Continuity mistake: Commodus and Maximus are on their way up from underneath the Colosseum, the ground is covered with red rose petals. Once the guards have formed a square for the fight, there are no roses within the square. (02:14:10)
Continuity mistake: In the final fight scene between Commodus and Maximus when Commodus loses his sword and Maximus drops his, we see Lucilla stand up but when it goes back to Maximus she is sitting back down, this happens a lot during the close-ups in this scene. (02:15:55)
Revealing mistake: Near the end of the movie, when Commodus and Maximus are in close, struggling for the knife, take a good look at the knife. Both of the actors' hands are gripping it and it's clearly rubber because it's bent at a serious angle. (02:16:30)
Continuity mistake: After the final fight scene when Maximus is on the ground, Lucilla is kneeling above him. When her face is shown, it is blocking out the sun. And yet, when the shot shows Maximus's face, there is no shadow. (02:18:50)
Revealing mistake: When the Roman soldiers throws bowls of oil on the servants and set them on fire, the protective mask on the burning servant standing up is visible. (Extended version only). (02:19:00)
Revealing mistake: After Maximus is dead, if you look at his neck, you can see his pulse. (02:19:15)
Revealing mistake: At the end, when Maximus had gone to afterlife world of Elysium and was meeting his wife and son, both the wife and the son put their hands up as to shield the sun from their eyes. You can clearly see that their hands are not blocking out the sun, because the shadows are not over the eyes. (02:19:45)
Factual error: When Maximus walks through the wheat field it is obvious (to a botanist) that the wheat shown is an octaploid variety which was developed in the 1950's for the Green Revolution. The type of wheat grown during Roman times can still be found in many areas too, so it's not like the filmmakers can't find it. (02:19:45)
Revealing mistake: When Maximus is dying and entering Elysium, you can see that it's not Russell Crowe walking through the fields to his wife and son. The stand-in's build and physique is totally different. (02:19:45)
Chosen answer: You're probably closest with the suggestion that they're rather stunned at the sheer speed with which Maximus has carved through the opposition. They'd certainly be used to more of a show, so for Maximus to slay all his challengers in less than a minute would take them aback. If anything, the "Are you not entertained" is closer to the theatrics that they'd really expect to see, which would prompt them into cheering him - up to that point, he's not exactly won their favour, even though he's defeated all comers.
Tailkinker ★