‘Gladiator 2’ Review: A Thrilling Spectacle That Gets Outshined By Its Predecessor

Gladiator II is a solid entertaining popcorn blockbuster story of rage, strength and honor with grisly impressive battle sequences but it still falls into the shadows of the monumental standards set by its predecessor.

Following up a Best Picture Winner over two decades later is no easy feat. Twenty-four years ago, the world witnessed Russell Crowe’s momentous performance as Maximus Decimus Meridius as he became the beloved hero in the arena in Gladiator (2000). The original film won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe. Gladiator II is the follow-up to Ridley Scott’s monumental historical epic drama that returns to the Colosseum and follows Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal), rise the ranks in the arena with a star-studded supporting cast including Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal.

History buff and director Ridley Scott returns to ancient Rome with a brand new story by Peter Craig (The Town) and David Scarpa (Napoleon). While it’s not entirely original or ground-breaking Gladiator II is still a worthy battle to watch on the big-screen as the sequel to Ridley Scott’s critically-acclaimed epic is as good as viewers expected it to be. The sequel does its best to showcase the period of political instability in Rome while introducing us to new characters ready to enter the arena or restore Rome to the senate.

Over twenty years after the historical epic was released, many fans were skeptical yet excited about the announcement of a sequel and how the epic legacy would continue years after Russell Crowe’s beloved Maximus died in the Colosseum. Well, the long-awaited sequel is finally here after being stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally went into production.

Gladiator II is a solid entertaining popcorn blockbuster story of rage, strength and honor with grisly impressive battle sequences but it still falls into the shadows of the monumental standards set by its predecessor. It’s still a fairly decent follow up that mostly rehashes plot points and themes of the first film while also flaunting loads of easter eggs and nods to the original film including imagery of flashbacks of Crowe’s iconic panoramic dream sequence through the Elysian wheat fields and recollections of the arena.

Gladiator (2000) took viewers on an epic journey into ancient Rome, with absolutely breathtaking visuals, a compelling story, and powerful performances that was a masterpiece cinephiles will forever cherish. Ridley Scott set a new bar for production design in filmmaking and featured revolutionary special effects. Gladiator is listed amongst the great period epics like Ben-Hur, Spartacus (1960), Lawrence of Arabia and Brave-Heart which shaped my love for film and appreciation for history and the art of war. 

So what makes the sequel worthwhile? Mostly the performances, gorgeous cinematography, grisly and impressive battle sequences, solid warfare, and stunning visual production and costume design. Despite how historically inaccurate, Gladiator II offers just the right amount of drama, exciting action and game-of-thrones-esque palace intrigue as Ridley turns his attention to the power and corruption in Imperial-era Rome. Rather than action-heavy the character motivations are what really make for a more interesting spectacle. While Ridley favors a better narrative over historical fact, the films departures from real life figures make for a much more exciting narrative.

*Spoiler for those that have not seen the trailer

Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people…

The sequel takes place 16 years after the tragic death of Marcus Aurelius as Rome is ruled by the corrupt twin emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). As the film begins Lucius (Mescal) is currently living a brand new life under the alias “Hanno” as a humble farmer with his wife Arishat in the North African colony Numidia. 

We see a very familiar storyline as Lucius is kidnapped by the Roman army led by General Marcus Acacius (Pascal), and is sold into slavery after the murder of his wife. Lucius is sold to Washington’s Macrinus, a former slave turned trader and well-connected businessman that sees the combat prowess in the mysterious young man who appears to not speak the common tongue but has a merciless fire inside of him that can be extremely useful to Macrinus. 

While winning battles for Macrinus, Lucius learns his family’s history and is later inspired by the legendary Maximus, as Lucius decides to fight as a gladiator, get revenge against Acacius and oppose the rule of the young corrupt emperors. His true identity and ancestry were revealed from clues in early flashbacks, that he is the secret son Maximus had with Lucilla (Nielsen), the former emperor’s daughter. 

At times, the storyline can feel a bit rushed, formulaic and redundant as some of the character arcs lack the depth that made the original film so compelling. There are multiple plots that weave together or appear pressed for time although it’s a two and half hour run-time. The pacing is a little choppy with abrupt alliances or allegiances (we’ll get back to that in a bit) and we don’t necessarily gravitate towards the lead characters as the performances waver between noteworthy and mediocre. However, there are much more interesting side characters. 

The second act is where things really start to pick up, especially with the unforeseen rise to power from Denzel Washington’s Macrinus, the former slave who becomes a wealthy and ambitious merchant. Washington really is the highlight of the entire film as he captures the audience with his enticing take on Macrinus with his cunning manipulative plans plotting behind the scenes to overthrow the emperors Geta and Caracalla and scheming his way into upper society. You can tell Denzel really had the time of his life with this mischievous character and getting that charismatic “training day” aura that serves us the most intriguing character and parts of the film. 

What was so interesting about Macrinus, was how the power dynamics worked this time around.

In the first film Antonius Proximo played by Oliver Reed, was the former gladiator freed by Marcus Aurelius, that bought Maximus in North Africa and became his mentor. Proximo was a wealthy slave owner known for exhibiting Gladiators at the Colosseum. The role of a manager/ owner/ trainer of a gladiator training school, the lanista was still much controlled and served a purpose as the pimp “vendor of human flesh” for the games violent entertainment. 

Macrinus was presented as more of a Roman aristocrat and arms dealer with an actual seat at the table. He supplied weapons and armor to the Roman armies and this position granted him access to the wealthy elite of Rome. The gladiators provided Macrinus the leverage he needed to gain access and the ears of the elite to earn his place beside the most important people in Rome.

The other antagonists took a bit of a back seat, as the unhinged twin co-Emperors Geta and Caracalla, played by Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn both could’ve used more screen-time and were completely outshined by Macrinus. The unstable brothers who rule as one are quite one-dimensional, predictable and forgettable. 

The cruel and pale sadistic twins who are clearly power-hungry, unfit for the throne, and quite careless with their power ruled as dual emperors from a distance. They appear to have been sheltered most of their lives, and mostly kept out of the public eye and sun resulting in pale ghost-like unnatural complexions. The make-up team emphasized the pampered, tended to and soft nature of the entitled brothers. Their backstories were merely glanced over and hinted at not really giving their arcs much depth.

Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) comes off as a cheap copy of Joaquin Phoenix’s tyrannical Emperor Commodus from 2000’s Gladiator, who was also a bit loopy and constantly vexed. Commodus was a spoiled brat and narcissist who never gets what he wants, and Quinn pretty much mimics this with his villainous successor to Commodus. Emperor Geta was a real-life Roman Emperor who held control over the empire from 198 to 211. While Geta does offer more poise and leadership than his unfit brother, Quinn’s mannerisms are often operatic and exaggerated with forced facial expressions, his unblinking wide eyes and theatrical body language and gestures. Less the actors fault as he isn’t really given much to work with, limiting his unsettling nature and not given him enough screen-time to really make a lasting impression.

Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus) plays the role of Emperor Caracalla, the unstable child-like brother of Emperor Geta who appears to have gotten the worse end of the stick. Caracalla is paranoid, easily manipulated and becomes Macrinus’s puppet. Caracalla was supposedly prone to violent outbursts, paranoia, and obsessive behavior, and historians widely believe that the real Emperor Caracalla had some disease that inhibited his mental function. This explains his immediate reaction of believing that his brother is conspiring against him and appointing his pet monkey, Dundus as his right-hand man before a group of Roman senators. While once again he really isn’t given much to work with as he simply offers the one-note idiocracy of his character. 

Paul Mescal’s character Lucius, the films lead was also a key supporting character in the original storyline. Spencer Treat Clark who played a young Lucius in the first Gladiator was the son of Lucilla (Nielsen). Lucius grew a deep admiration for Maximus who quickly became a hero for many spectators in the arena, influencing the child to want to be a heroic gladiator over reigning the Roman throne. Witnessing Maximus’ brave sacrifice against Commodus foreshadows his own future in the arena.

While Mescal is entertaining enough, he lacks the “je ne sais quoi” to carry the film himself. The sequel lacks the deep power revenge of the first film as Crowe gave one of the best performances in cinema. Crowe commanded respect, his on-screen presence was remarkable and his performance won him an Oscar and marked his name into history. It was easy to believe he was a leader of men as Crowe’s physicality, endurance, and intense fortitude made for the perfect choice as the heroic Maximus Decimus Meridius. Mescal delivers exciting and convincing enough fight scenes but there aren’t really any monumental stand-out moments, memorable quotes or tragic deliveries that notably mark his presence in or out of the arena, as we’ve seen a lot of this revenge story before.

Lucius’ progression into the revolutionary gladiator isn’t earned either, as his first introduction is just ‘Hanno’ plotting vengeance against Acacius who he thinks is his enemy, as the general led the charge that killed his wife. As mentioned earlier, the pacing and storyline can feel a bit rushed as the film feels like it suddenly drops Hanno’s fate in his lap midway through the movie. It’s odd that he remembers moments from his childhood and languages and his actual home, but he neglected to care about his birthright for over two decades or didn’t know until the audience did.

Lucius and  Acacius have a bit of a “MARTHA” moment as the general pleads for his life in the arena and mentions caring for and serving Lucius’ father quickly changing the motivations of the protagonist. The audience as well as Lucius learn that Acacius is also just a soldier following orders is actually plotting a coup against the emperors, with senators including Gracchus, onboard.

Pascal doesn’t do anything particularly spectacular as the general, but the character becomes very likeable and serves a very important purpose in the progression of the downfall of the twins. His arc could’ve been handled better as well as the poorly kept secret of Lucius/ Hanno amongst the cells and senate.

From the original cast, Connie Nielsen reprises her role as Lucilla, while Derek Jacobi also returns once again to play Roman Senator Gracchus. Lucilla is an essential link between both films as her relationship with her estranged son is the most important connection. In the original Lucilla sent her son away from Rome as a young boy after the death of Maximus to protect him. There are a few scenes of the reconnected mother-son working out their issues with an at first reluctant reunion from Lucius. 

After the Martha moment, Macrinus’ quick ascension and a few rushed mommy issue narratives, the expected but poorly structured embrace of Lucius’ fate takes shape in his acceptance of Maximus’ suit of armor. The final showdown is exciting enough but mostly because of Denzel’s performance.

Lucius not only clashes swords with a large number of enemies in and out of the arena in front of massive cheering crowds, but also goes up against feral baboons, a rhinoceros and a shark-infested Colosseum. The animal theatrics of the arena come off a bit dramatic and showbizzy. While exotic animals were really captured and transported to Ancient Rome and were popular in some gladiatorial contests, the movie is sometimes too dependent on CGI. The very strange feral man-eating monkeys were distracting, instead of focusing on sword-clasing grand-scale action battle sequences the animals and overemphasized elaborate spectacles were often overused and less believable. Did we really need sharks inside the Colosseum?

Either way, Director Ridley Scott makes sure to leave audiences entertained. The sequel delivers beautiful visual production, practical effects, cinematography and costume design, a fantastic score and grand-scale world building. From strategy to political philosophy and intrigue, Scott and his production team bring these iconic moments in ancient history to life through costumes, music, language and visual effects. Penning the screenplay is David Scarpa, who previously collaborated with Scott as the writer for All the Money in the World as well as Napoleon. 

Scott brought his original filmmaking crew along with him. Academy Award-nominated cinematographer John Mathieson, Academy Award-nominated production designer Arthur Max and Academy Award-winning costume designer Janty Yates returned to work on the film. Scott also reunites with all the set decorators (Sonja Klaus, Crispian Sallis, and Emilio Ardura) who worked on Gladiator.

Harry Gregson-Williams, who previously worked with Scott on Kingdom of Heaven, Prometheus, The Martian, Alien: Covenant, and House of Gucci, composed the score for Gladiator II, taking over from Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard, who composed the Oscar-nominated score for the first film.

With a power house production team the sequel is still worthy of watching on the big screen. Gladiator 2 is a grisly thrilling spectacle featuring impressive battle sequences, solid warfare, strong performances and stunning visual production and costume design. The two and a half hour run-time could have shaved off a few minutes, but it’s just the right amount of drama and exciting action.

Overall: 7.5

Denzel steals the show, definitely entertained but expectedly not blown away the sequel is good but does not quite reach the heights of the original timeless classic.

From director Ridley Scott, watch the New Trailer for #GladiatorII starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, and Fred Hechinger – Only in theatres November 22.