Film Review: Gladiator II

Gladiator II
Director: Ridley Scott
Scott Free Productions, Lucy Fisher/Douglas Wick Productions
In Theaters: 11.22

The summer of 2000, when a new century of blockbuster filmmaking began, is still fresh in my mind. Tom Cruise whipped his hair back and forth in M:I-2, the X-Men made their first appearance on the big screen and a bold new hero rose who stood far above the rest: Gladiator. It’s been over two decades since Ridley Scott’s swords and sandals picture made audiences shout “Yes, we are entertained,” and despite the death of the protagonist, a sequel was almost inevitable. It’s taken 24 years, but Gladiator II is finally here to unleash hell. 

16 years after the death of General Maximus Decimas Meridius in the Roman colosseum, we are introduced to Hanno (Paul Mescal, Aftersun, Carmen), a man who lives a modest life in Numidia with his wife, Arishat (Yuval Gonen, The Station). When General Marcus Acacius invades Numidia, Hanno leads the small defending army into battle, only for them to be slaughtered, and Arishat killed before his eyes. Hanno is then enslaved and sold to the ambitious Macrinus (two time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington), who sees Hanno as a potential star gladiator, and seeks to use this to manipulate his way to a new level of prominence. There’s something different about Hanno, however, that starts to arouse suspicions. He recites poetry, and he knows an unlikely amount about Rome and its inner workings and history for a simple Numidian farmer.  Meanwhile, Acacius returns to his own wife, Lucilla (Wonder Woman’s Connie Neilsen, reprising her breakout role from the original Gladiator). The sad and weary daughter of the former Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, Lucilla has watched helplessly as her father’s dream of restoring the republic fell apart amid those clamoring for power at the death of Emperor Commodus, and now Rome is ruled by twin Caesars, Caracalla (Fred Hechinger, Thelma) and Geta (Joseph Quinn, Stranger Things, A Quiet Place: Day One)… though she did manage to get her son and heir to the throne, Lucius Veras, out of Rome before things got worse, though she hasn’t seen him in decades. As Lucilla longs to find Lucius and Acacius seeks to lead an insurrection against the twins, Hanno is driven  by a desire for vengeance against Acacius, which Macrinus promises to give him.

In order to enjoy Gladiator II,It’s crucial to remember that despite the inclusion of some historical names and details, this is pure fiction, like its predecessor, and the point has always been a throwback to the grand Hollywood spectacles of the 1960s made with cutting edge technology and edgier, modern sensibility. The film flounders in the moments when it feels most like a simple retread, and while it’s gorgeous to look at, the tacked on homage to Ingmar Bergmann‘s The Seventh Seal left me terribly vexed. Fortunately, when the real plot starts to come into focus, Gladiator II hits its stride and becomes engrossing enough to forgive its weaknesses. In terms of sheer pageantry and trills, Scott is going for broke and piling on the wow factor with no hesitation. The 86-year old icon, who gave Alien, Blade Runner and more before being passed over for the Best Director Oscar in 2001—even as Gladiator took home Best Picture and Russell Crowe Best Actor—is determined to get every bit of bang for his buck and remind us that he is the master showman behind it all. While the director impresses on an unprecedented scale, he’s constantly in danger of over delivering, with the action set pieces and CGI animals coming at us so relentlessly and with so little restraint that if you’re intent on taking this too seriously, you’re going to be let down. An eye-popping sequence where the colosseum is flooded with water so the gladiators can battle on small boats as live sharks swarm around them is thoroughly outrageous, yet it’s also quite fun. This is ‘go big or go home’ filmmaking, and Scott isn’t going home without making an impression.

Mescal makes an outstanding debut as a Hollywood star in much the same way that Crowe did all those years ago, and channels the latter frequently while holding on to the performance and keeping it his own. Washington is clearly relishing every moment of this, and rises above the often lackluster dialogue to make Macrinus a highly compelling character, and it’s a thrilling performance. Pascal is a welcome addition to any movie, but isn’t given enough to do, and while Quinn and Hechinger are quite effective as Geta and Caracalla, they are largely one note characters. Nielsen shines, especially in her scenes with Mescal, and anglophiles will be delighted to see Tim McInnerny (Blackadder, Nothing Hill) as Thraex, a Senator so embarrassingly flawed, weak and corrupt that his appointment to a major cabinet position in the Trump administration is coming any moment.

Gladiator II can’t equal the intoxicating experiences of the first film, especially for those of us who have spent 24 years quoting it and putting it on an even higher pedestal than it may truly deserve. It’s a bold, brash, bigger-is-better blockbuster bonanza that makes for a highly exciting time at the movies, even if it’s not a true classic. I won’t be seeing it 10 times in the theater like I did the original, though I will see it again—but not yet. Not yet. –Patrick Gibbs

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