One of a batch of Brits who started off in advertising (alongside the
equally variable Alan Parker and Adrian Lyne), Scott has surpassed
them in his reputation as one of the big screen's most consummate
stylists. In spite of their rich visual texture, though, his films are
frequently empty and bombastic beyond belief. These qualities
actually suit the emotionless worlds of his sci-fi classics Alien and
Blade Runner, but a soulless perfectionism of surface aesthetic is
revealed in the worst of his 1990s output. Gladiator was a major
comeback, but still suffers from artificial strivings towards epic
sweep and damagingly vapid dialogue.
