In 180 AD, a Roman general named Maximus became a slave. That slave became a gladiator who became a hero to the people and to his dying breath, he defied an empire. With the corrupted emperor perished, rule was to have been handed back to the senate and the dream of a free Rome was supposed to have been realised. But things don’t always go as planned.
Two decades later, Rome is ruled over by the insane double act of brothers Emperor Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Emperor Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), commanding their star general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) to engage in one campaign after another, spreading the Roman empire and their reach ever further. For his part, Acacius has grown weary of non-stop warfare and dreams of a peaceful life with his wife, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). Lucilla‘s young child, Lucius was heir apparent to the Roman empire upon his uncle’s defeat by Maximus all those years ago. Immediately, she sent Lucius away for his own protection and has been secretly plotting a coup with the senate ever since.
Lucius eventually grew to be a man (Paul Mescal), a soldier and a leader in Numidia along the North African coast. Numidia falls as part of Rome’s expansion; Lucius‘ warrior woman wife is killed and he is enslaved. Sold to the gladiator trainer Macrinus (Denzel Washington), a former slave whose ambitions led to his emancipation and to a fortune of his own, Macrinus now plots to control the Roman empire itself. With Lucius as his prized fighter wanting revenge, the two may just get what they desire. Especially considering that Emperors Geta and Caracalla frequently hold gladiator games in The Great Colosseum to celebrate their victory.
Legendary director Ridley Scott‘s Gladiator (2000) was a monumental success upon its release, mixing action, intrigue, schemes and huge battle sequences in a brutal historical epic. The film won 5 Academy Awards including Best Film and Best Actor sky-rocketing Russell Crowe beyond A-list status to Hollywood superstar.
There had been attempts to get a sequel with Crowe returning off the ground for a while. Not an easy thing with his character dying at the conclusion of the picture, reunited with his murdered family. Bold and daring “Titanic 2” level ideas floated around with Crowe in particular being interested in exploring the mythical elements of Ancient Rome. The afterlife, supernatural deities and the resurrecting of his character were all on the cards, but this never happened.
This, I find to be a great pity as it would have been more interesting than the plot of Gladiator II. An issue plaguing this sequel is that it is trying to be a very different movie to the original, but also the same, to one up the original but also pay homage to it. To be a “next generation” follow up, but also a reset, so that they can tell basically the exact same story once more of a gladiator rising up to challenge an evil empire. Gods help me, it is the same issue faced by the Disney Star Wars sequels.
This results in an epic which is all over the place with nothing receiving the attention it feels like it needs. No time at all is spent on explaining how everything went so poorly after the hopeful finale of the first film. Why root for the people and the senate to retake the dream of a free Rome when it all fell apart off screen the last time? How can we see Lucius as a brilliant tactician and leader of men (like Maximus) when his introductory battle results in him being knocked unconscious and his side losing?
Paul Mescal is proving to be a fine actor but he is unfortunately tasked with recreating the same character journey Crowe had already perfected. His physicality is on display and he plays well for his part in the action scenes. Also, while he replaces Lucius‘ child actor from Gladiator (2000), there’s something familiar in his eyes. But Mescal is a much different actor to Crowe and his role should have been written accordingly. The deep rage we’re told, repeatedly, that drives Lucius is never seen in the actor’s somewhat vacant expression.
With Mescal‘s fame still on the rise, it seems a true celebrity was sought as a figurehead for the movie. Denzel Washington fills that chair and uses his natural New York accent as he reflects modern Ridley Scott‘s “who cares” mantra to believable world building. His character’s journey, however, is still something new and interesting that the film explores. All told, even while phoning it in, Washington proves by far the best actor of the piece.
The rest of the cast are serviceable, but like the various plot elements, have no lasting impact. Geta and Caracalla as characters are interchangeable (seriously, I can’t remember which is which), while Acacius mopes around in the background, dragged into a conspiracy already in progress. It was nice seeing Nielsen‘s return but Lucilla had even more incestuous chemistry with her brother Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) last time around than with her husband here.
As it was with Napoleon (2023), I had hoped Ridley Scott‘s keen eye for spectacle would be on display, even if the story was lacking. Thankfully, he pulls back from such wretched colour grading this year, so costume designers David Crossman and Janty Yates‘ return can be appreciated (blues actually look blue, not green!). The rest of the film is a bit of a mixed bag and the movie is beset by noticeably poor continuity between shots (I don’t know how as editor Claire Simpson won an Oscar for Platoon in 1986 and is much better than this). The massive battle sequences are scarce and the 1 vs 1 combat within the arena is nothing special.
There is an odd reliance on CGI with this sequel. Not just in recreating the Colosseum and its crowds, which is understandable and is done perfectly well, but to create more exotic fights, Lucius faces off against a variety of computer generated animals, none of which look believable. CGI shaved baboons, CGI giant rhinos and oddly enough CGI sharks in a miniaturised mock naval battle.
Much has been made of the historical inaccuracy of this sequence, but Gladiator (2000) was hardly accurate itself, and I think that is the most exciting part of the movie, giving us something we’ve not seen before and showcasing the insanity that the gladiatorial games have become. I just wish there was more of it, as this standalone extravagant scene leaves the audience questioning the logistics of ancient 200AD Roman waterproofing!
Gladiator II is a mediocre follow up to one of the greatest epics of the early 2000s. An over reliance on what is familiar and what worked last time robs this film of innovation and excitement. The movie lacks the strong script and characters of the original, which tied its scattered ideas all together. However, considering how much of Gladiator (2000) was the product of Russell Crowe’s creative input, perhaps they needed to resurrect Maximus after all… at least for a role behind the camera.
Gladiator II is in cinemas from November 14.