Gladiator II review

GLADIATOR II: 

RIDLEY SCOTT RETURNS TO THE COLOSSEUM IN EPIC SEQUEL! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and Connie Nielsen in Gladiator II

 

            Director Ridley Scott (Alien, Kingdom of Heaven, The Martian) is back in the colosseum in Gladiator II, the much anticipated sequel to his 2000 epic, Gladiator. The first Gladiator which starred Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius was a huge deal when it was released as it became the second highest-grossing film of 2000 behind Mission: Impossible 2 and took home the Oscar for Best Picture that year. 

            I can see why it had such a big impact because the first Gladiator is awesome with spectacular battle sequences that still look amazing today, a captivating Russell Crowe performance, and a scene-stealing Joaquin Phoenix as the devious, Commodus. It was a solid, self-contained historical epic that ended on a strong note…anyway, now we have a sequel. 

            Talks of a Gladiator sequel dated all the way to 2001 after the release of the first film, but production was halted after DreamWorks sold the IP to Paramount in 2006 among other setbacks. I was a little skeptical when Gladiator IIwas in active development because how do you follow Gladiator up when the main character is already dead? 

            The answer, make it about the young boy from the first movie who’s now grown up and bring a couple cast members from its predecessor back and there you go. Nevertheless, making a sequel to an Oscar-winning movie is no easy task especially with a film like Gladiator, but I’m happy to report that Gladiator II is a worthy follow-up. 

            Do I think it’s as great as the first film? Not exactly, but I was entertained during my viewing of it. The battle scenes are amazing especially on an IMAX screen and the film does a solid job tying into the first movie. 

            The film is set sixteen years after the death of Maximus and follows his son, Lucius (Paul Mescal-God’s Creatures, Carmen, All of Us Strangers; replacing Spencer Treat Clark from the first film) who is now grown up and becomes a gladiator after his home is invaded by the Roman Army led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal-The Mandalorian, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, The Wild Robot). Seeking revenge, Lucius fights as a gladiator for Macrinus (Denzel Washington-Training Day, American Gangster, The Equalizer trilogy), a former slave who plans to overthrow the tyrannical emperors, Geta (Joseph Quinn-Overlord, A Quiet Place: Day One, The Fantastic Four: First Steps) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger-Eighth Grade, News of the World, Thelma). 

            The film also stars Connie Nielsen (One Hour Photo, DC Extended Universe, Nobody) reprising her role from the first film as Lucius’s mother Lucilla, Lior Raz (Policeman, Operation: Finale, 6 Underground) as Viggo, Sir Derek Jacobi (Hamlet (1996), Gosford Park, The King’s Speech) reprising his role from the first film as Senator Gracchus, Peter Mensah (Hidalgo, The Incredible Hulk, Avatar) as Jubartha, Matt Lucas (Little Britain, Paddington, Wonka) as the Master of Ceremonies, Alexander Karim (Zero Dark Thirty, Dying of the Light) as Ravi, Tim McInnerny (101/102 Dalmatians, Notting Hill, Johnny English Reborn) as Senator Thraex, Rory McCann (Game of Thrones, XXX: Return of Xander Cage, Jumanji: The Next Level) as Tegula, Alec Utgoff (The Tourist, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, San Andreas) as Darius, and Yann Gael (Loro, Saloum, Hot Milk) as Bostar. 

            Overall, Gladiator II doesn’t really offer much new and if you’ve seen the first you know what kind of movie you’re going to get. Regardless, it is still a phenomenally made movie that takes advantage of the size and scope of the big screen while still offering plenty of substance alongside the spectacle. 

            I will say the film does borrow a lot from its predecessor in terms of its storytelling and characters, but I wouldn’t go on record and call it a blatant carbon copy of the first movie. You look at some of these characters and be like “Oh, this must be this movie’s version of this character and that must be this movie’s version of that character” and that’s not exactly a bad thing because for the most part the actors bring their own energy to their roles. 

            Paul Mescal is no Russell Crowe (I don’t think I need to say that), but I found his character endearing and was invested in his arc throughout the film, he does a great job making you care about him and wanting to see him get his revenge. Much like Joaquin Phoenix in the first movie, Denzel Washington is the scene-stealer of this film as he commands every scene he’s in and perfectly balances between being incredibly charming and threatening sometimes in the same scenes, easily worthy of a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. 

            Pedro Pascal also plays an interesting and complex character as Acacius who on the surface is the man you want to see fall at the hands of Paul Mescal’s Lucius, but he has so many layers to his character that he too becomes someone you end up caring about to an extent. Going further would require stepping into Spoiler territory so I will just say Pascal won me over here. 

            The battle sequences are incredible and it’s astounding that the 86-year-old Ridley Scott is still actively putting his money and resources on the screen to create the most epic, large-scale movie he can. The opening sequence with the ships coming in and invading Lucius’s home had my eyes glued to the screen and is probably my favorite action scene in the movie with flaming catapults and people getting stabbed by arrows and sliced with swords. 

The action in general looks and sounds great on IMAX, you hear every blow with those loud speakers to the point where I was wincing at some of the things people did to each other in the movie and the size and scope of the screen make it feel like you’re right there in the colosseum. I was just marveling at the ancient Roman architecture, costume designs, and large, crowded shots of civilizations, it’s a movie that constantly feels big even when there isn’t any slicing and dicing or blood spurting onscreen. 

Gladiator II probably won’t leave as big an impact as its acclaimed 2000 predecessor, but for those who enjoy the first movie or sword and sandals epics in general, I would strongly recommend seeing this movie in theaters on the biggest screen you can and the loudest sound possible. Are you not entertained? The answer is yes, I was very entertained.