Directed by Ridley Scott, Gladiator II follows Lucius Verus Aurelius (Paul Mescal), the son of Maximus, who must enter the Colosseum after the tyrannical twin emperors of Rome conquer his home. With rage in his heart and the future of the empire at stake, he looks to the past to find the strength and honor needed to return the glory of Rome to its people.
The original Gladiator was a well-regarded epic that made a huge impact on pop culture and has been considered by some to be one of Ridley Scott’s best films in his career as a director. So to make a sequel to such a highly praised film would not been an easy task, especially given the fact that Ridley Scott’s track record as a director in recent years has been very lackluster. Sadly this film in my view doesn’t do that track record any favors. Gladiator II is a sequel that provides mild entertainment through great performances and great action sequences but is all dragged down by a poorly written and repetitive screenplay, resulting in a film that left little to no impact on me. It doesn’t tarnish the legacy of the original but it also doesn’t add anything new or interesting to that legacy.
If you are only coming to this film for the entertainment value you will find most of it through the performances of the extremely talented cast. All of the characters are given very little development for me to care about them emotionally but the cast members do their best to make them investing enough.
Paul Mescal proves to be an absolute physical force of nature in his performance and has the makings to be a compelling lead for this film but we barely get much development as an individual to care about what’s happening to him on his journey. His story feels rather rushed from start to end and I didn’t find myself rooting for him much compared to Maximus.
Pedro Pascal as General Acacius was honestly a much better character in comparison as a Roman general disillusioned by war and seeking to overthrow the emperors. While he doesn’t have as much development as the other characters, his motives feel more unique and compelling in comparison to the rest, aside from one other character, and Pedro Pascal does an excellent job capturing the energy of a disillusioned soldier, once again proving how talented of an actor he is and why he deserves getting all the roles he’s been getting in these recent years.
Connie Nielsen reprises her role as Lucilla from the first film and while she is good here there isn’t much new her character offers aside from her attempting to be a motherly figure to Lucius, but the emotional connection just isn’t felt throughout the film.
Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger as the tyrannical twin emperors of Rome are good villains that are psychotic to the bone. They aren’t as layered compared to Commodus from the first film but are a lot of fun, mostly thanks to the performances by both actors. Joseph Quinn in particular delivered absolutely feral energy in his performance, showcasing that he has great range as an actor.
However, the main standout of this film is Denzel Washington as Macrinus, a former slave turned gladiator owner who has his own plans to control Rome for himself through clever schemes and manipulation. Denzel brings his A-game to this character, making for easily the best performance that steals the entire film and brings in some infectious energy that the film was in great need of. Had he not been involved I don’t think I would have remained as invested in this film as I was when he came along.
The film’s story is what hugely drags down this film as a result of a repetitive and unfocused screenplay. This film essentially feels like a rushed retelling of the first film with only slight differences in characters, action sequences, and certain events that occur. Nothing felt new, refreshing, or even hugely impactful within the story or themes yet it tries poorly to make us care about the characters involved and the moments that occur but it just never holds a candle to the original film. Additionally, the film struggles with connecting and bringing together several narrative threads into a focused narrative, making it even harder to care about what is happening on top of the other issues. By the end of the film, I barely felt much emotionally for it and I only felt mildly entertained, which makes me question what the point of the film was.
The action is easily the second strongest element of the film alongside some of the technical work. It’s brutal, bloody, intensely energetic, and is all performed incredibly well by both the main cast members and the stunt teams involved. The gladiator combat of this film is definitely one of the biggest improvements from the original film next to the fantastic cinematography as well as the improved editing. The only time I felt the action wasn’t as strong was when there was a heavy amount of mediocre effects involved.
For a film that is mostly visually great to look at the undercooked CGI is immensely distracting and makes some action sequences hard to feel immersed in. These specific effects aren’t the worst I have seen this year but they aren’t the best either and make this film pale in comparison to the high usage of practical effects used in the original.
As for the score of this film, done by composer Harry Gregson-Williams, it is fine but is barely memorable compared to the legendary and highly memorable score in the first film made by composers Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard. What was considered an iconic element of Gladiator is treated as an afterthought in the sequel, which was honestly very disappointing.
This sequel had plenty of opportunities to be on par with or even be better than its predecessor but in my view, it failed to do both. I can see some people finding some enjoyment out of this film and that’s totally ok if they do. This is by no means a terrible film as it has some good things but overall it just wasn’t good or impactful enough for me. I’m going to give Gladiator II a C = 76.
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