"National Roman Legion"

[Magnus]

That I have seen, the best legionary combat was in the first episode of Rome, Season I.

I'd basically dismiss the whole opening scene in Gladiator in terms of authenticity...it was horrible. The legions relied on their formations with some spacing in between individual soldiers to grind their enemies down. In Gladiator they degrade into some silly melee because they didn't do what the Romans actually did.

The bottom line is that you need some space to move, otherwise you can't fight.