REVIEW BY: Darren Zakus - 11/11/24

RATING 3.5 out of 5

Gladiator II brings back the swords and sandals epic to the big screen with a technical prowess as Ridley Scott returns to one of his greatest films, that even though the story does not make a strong enough argument for this sequel to exist, it is pure entertainment from start to finish thanks to great fight sequences and an excellent cast featuring a brilliant supporting turn by Denzel Washington.

“Are you not entertained?” The words of Maximus Decimus Meridius have echoed throughout cinema ever since being spoken in Ridley Scott’s Best Picture winning film Gladiator back in 2000, which rightfully earned its place in the history books as one of the most epic historical dramas in cinema. Both a box office success and beloved by critics, it was only a matter of time before Scott returned to Ancient Rome, and twenty four years later he still manages to entertain with an action packed extravaganza. Armed with an all-star cast of Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn and Denzel Washington, who devours every second of screen time to create one of the most entertaining characters of the year, the film is at its best when in the arena featuring technically flawless set pieces, even if the political drama and overall story outside of the arena is lacking the emotional depth and gravitas of its predecessor.

Legacy sequels are tricky, as there is always fan excitement surrounding them with a burning passion to revisit the worlds of some of their favourite films, but there needs to be a story to justify its existence. We have seen great success in recent years with legacy sequels like Top Gun: Maverick, Twisters and Scream V, and while Gladiator has the potential in exploring Rome after Maximus’ demise in the arena to free its people from Commodus, David Scarpa and Peter Craig’s never makes a compelling argument as to why the story needs to continue other than for more exciting arena sequences. We find Rome in a very similar situation as to where it was in the first film, with the first hour and a half of Gladiator II feeling like it merely copied and pasted the premise of the first film. It strangely simultaneously cheapens Maximus’ sacrifice in the original and makes it seem pointless with a hastily thrown together plot point that sends young Lucius on his path, but at the same time pays great respect to Maximus’ character and how he has become a legendary figure that continues to inspire the citizens of Rome of Marcus Aurelius’s dream. 

Within the last hour, the film starts to explore new ideas even if thematically its moving towards a similar ending, but it feels like it is riffing on far greater films like the original, Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings, and The Lion King to name a few rather than building its own fresh ideas. There’s a lot going on in the screenplay, causing some character arcs and storylines to be left underdeveloped, especially for Pascal’s Marcus Acacius and dampens the heart that Nielsen consistently brings to the film as Lucilla. The political and social turmoil of Rome is never fully flushed out and does not reach the riveting standard set by its predecessor, but with countless extravagant action set pieces, the film never drags nor loses its entertainment value for a second. Sadly, it never recaptures the emotional stakes of the first one that allowed Maximus’ journey to echo the greatness of mythical heroes, leaving Mescal’s Lucius’s hero journey feeling unearned at times as the story is missing the brutal rawness to truly forge his character as the next saviour of Rome. Nor does it help that some of the dialogue is unintentionally laughable or confusingly contradicts previous scenes. The first Gladiator was prestige cinema that took both audiences and critics by storm, and while there are elements of Gladiator II that will no doubt garner major awards consideration, this sequel is firmly popcorn entertainment that audiences will thoroughly enjoy, and there is nothing wrong with that. 

There’s little question as to what will be bringing audiences out to see Gladiator II, and it is without doubt its cast featuring two of the hottest stars right now: Mescal and Pascal. Mescal gives a terrific physical transformation as a now grown up Lucius who finds himself like Maximus, forced to fight in the arena to entertain Rome’s civilians while seeking revenge for the death of his family. Never for a second does Mescal falter in capturing the rage that drives Lucius throughout the film, but the writing of Lucius does not give him a whole lot to work with to turn that rage into an inspirational hero meant to lead Rome in rebellion. Pascal, who does not disappoint, brings an intelligence and warmth to Rome’s most celebrated general, even if his character arc never fully takes flight. Connie Nielsen, reprising her role from the original, is the beating heart of the film as Lucilla, bringing a pain and tenderness that drives the majority of the film’s central conflict, even if the screenplay never knows how to best use her character. Quinn is gleefully demented as Emperor Geta, conjuring up a villainous leader of Rome that you can’t help but to hate thanks to his committed performance, while Fred Hechinger is well cast opposite him as Rome’s other emperor, Emperor Caracalla, whose love for his pet monkey has no bounds to great comedic effect.