In ancient Rome, bloody battles were held for celebrations and the amusement of the rich and powerful. Men, who were trained to fight other men or wild animals, would stand in the arena with weapons and the only ambition to stay alive long enough to buy their freedom. Some would become legends but most would perish without doing anything memorable. These individuals, called Gladiators, were portrayed in films as early as 1914 but 24 years ago director Ridley Scott (Alien) made a movie starring Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind) called Gladiator. Almost two and a half decades later Scott brings the sequel, Gladiator II, to the big screen this weekend.
Growing ever stronger in power, Roman Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn; A Quiet Place: Day One) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger; Thelma) order General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal; The Mandalorian) to invade Numidia. During the battle, Hanno (Paul Mescal; All of Us Strangers) is taken prisoner after his wife is killed. He is then sold into slavery and is bought by Macrinus (Denzel Washington; Fences) to fight as a gladiator. However, when he is brought to fight in the Coliseum, his mother, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen; Wonder Woman) recognizes him as her son, Lucius Verus, whom she sent away when he was young to protect him, as he is the rightful heir to the Roman throne.
Scott once again creates an epic film fit for the Gods, just as he did with 2000's Gladiator. The battle scenes look incredibly realistic whether they include wild monkeys, ships and sharks, or simply two men with swords. Scott also knows how to build tension which generally keeps audiences on the edge of their seats throughout the entire film. He interjects symbolism as nods to the original movie to the delight of fans. However, it might have been interesting to see how a different director would have treated the story.
Scott also assembles a terrific cast. Quinn and Hechinger are strong and play off each other well as the twins who are out of their element as Emperors of the most powerful army in the world at the time. Pascal has the stance of a powerful general which serves him well throughout the movie. Mescal is good but he most definitely does not have the same presence that Crowe offered in the original nor sadly, does he command the screen. Conversely, Washington is magnificent but no one should expect anything less from a two-time Oscar winner.
The production is huge with excellent costumes and incredible sets. Unfortunately, it is also too long and drags at times. Scott seems to have fallen into the Cameron/Scorsese School of editing and like his colleagues, doesn't understand that it is unnecessary to include every beautiful piece of footage that was shot. There is probably at least 15 minutes of footage that could have been cut that nobody would have missed. Tightening up the run time probably would have kept the tension high and the audience engaged.
However, the largest injustice of the film is the recycled plot. Besides a few moments here or there the story is essentially the same as the first film, making the whole project unnecessary and since Mescal isn't as charismatic as Crowe was it makes Gladiator II less of a film than the first one. Don't get me wrong, with a strong cast and very good production values, one could do a lot worse than to watch Gladiator II but if you are expecting something unique you will be disappointed by this sequel.
I recommend seeing it on the big screen because a film such as this simply looks better/larger than life in a theater but if you are hoping for something unique or different, you won't find it in Gladiator II.
Grade: B
