Gladiator II (2024)

★★★1/2

Gladiator II is… fine. Personally, while it may be entertaining at times, I just found it to be incredibly lazy filmmaking from Ridley Scott. That being said… a lazy Ridley Scott is still better than most filmmakers. I just really feel he has lost his spark and passion for filmmaking, as it really felt like a lot of shots, edits, sequences, everything was just rushed. It felt like Ridley Scott was just going through the motions but never really did anything interesting, like he was asleep at the wheel. I caught glimpses of a great movie when it tried to be something new. Unfortunately, this was rare. Most of the film is trying too hard to recall—or even recreate—the first Gladiator… so what was the point? We have Gladiator at home; it’s called Gladiator. And yet! There were moments when this was shining as a clever ensemble. But, by the end, too many of arc’s were either cut too short, not fleshed out, or forced.

 

I don't have much to add here; I've never had any particular fondness for the original Gladiator, it was very transparent to observe the Force Awakens-ing going on here. Gladiator II contains all the grand spectacle, bloodshed, and adrenaline-pumping action you’d expect from a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Best Picture-winning historical epic. It’s impressive to see Scott still operating on such a large scale well into his eighties. However, the story lacks the original’s heart and soul, desperately trying to recapture its former glory in what often feels like a pale imitation. The moments where it deviates and attempts to do its own thing are when it’s at its best. Paul Mescal steps believably into the action-hero role, while Denzel Washington steals every scene with his swagger and commanding presence. I loved Pedro Pascal, but I wish he had more scenes. Connie Nielsen, however, is given more to do this time, and Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger are wickedly fun as the pair of Roman emperors treating the empire as their twisted playground. All the pieces were there, but something just didn’t click for me. There sure are some excellent sequences and filmmaking in there, when you consider them in a vacuum, as they never come together to form a cohesive whole. But, despite the shortcomings and the flimsiness of the general narrative, it's hard to deny that there's some spectacle here that feels epic and grounded in a way that's been out of fashion for a while. It did feel good to see a large Hollywood historical epic on the big screen again! Consider myself mildly entertained.

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Premise: After his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum and must look to his past to find strength to return the glory of Rome to its people.

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Paramount

Directed by Ridley Scott

Screenplay by David Scarpa

Story by David Scarpa & Peter Craig

Cast: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger

Runtime: 2hr 28min

Rating: 14A

Action, Drama

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IMDb Rating: 6.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 71%

RT Audience Score: 82%

RT Critic Average: 6.6/10

RT Audience Average: 4.2/5

Metacritic Score: 64

CinemaScore: B

Letterboxd: 3.4/5

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Fun Fact: In an interview with Simon Mayo, Ridley Scott said that he sold the Kingdom of Heaven (2005) set to the Moroccan government for $10 because it was cheaper than dismantling it. He then had to hire it from the same government for use in this movie.

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