GLADIATOR II

You will (eventually) be entertained by Gladiator II, mostly thanks to a scene chewing Denzel Washington, but the sequel’s spectacle doesn’t hold a candle to the original’s emotional core.

It took Ridley Scott nearly a quarter of a century to mount a sequel to his Oscar winning hit Gladiator and now that it has finally arrived, it’s debatable whether it was worth the wait. For while there are plenty of battles to keep the blockbuster crowd happy and the political intrigue excites, the movie is lacking heart and soul.

Gladiator II picks up the story sixteen years after the original. Lucius, Maximus’ son, has been living in exile in Northern African all this time but after his wife is killed in a battle with the Roman army, he finds his way to the Colosseum, where he hopes to extract revenge on the people responsible for her death.

This premise hews close to the plot of the original but doesn’t yield nearly the emotional impact of Maximus’ journey. Partly this is due to a miscast Paul Mescal, who despite buffing up lacks the physical presence and world-weary realism Russell Crowe brought to his gladiator. Another reason is that the screenplay never bothers to flesh out the personal drive of Lucius beyond simple revenge.

Gladiator II also slightly underwhelms in the visual department. Despite a humongous budget, Ridley Scott cannot conjure up a single scene that tops the spectacles in the first film, not even in a bonkers naval battle in the Colosseum or a confrontation with a rhino. Following on from last year’s Napoleon and 2021’s The Last Duel, it would seem that Scott’s eye for showy scenes might not have diminished, but linking relatable emotions to them no longer interests him.

All this makes Gladiator II rather boring till well past the midpoint. It’s only when Denzel Washington’s character’s political ambitions are put front and centre in the final act that the picture picks up pace and justifies its existence. It goes to show that all the spectacle in the world cannot top an actor chewing the scenery with gusto.

release: 2024

director: Ridley Scott

starring: Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen