Gladiator II Review: A Pale Imitation
Ken Jones, OnScreen Blog Chief Film Critic
Ever since the unquestionable success of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, which culminated in a Best Picture Oscar, there has been talk of a sequel. I remember hearing one sequel idea that would have seen Russell Crowe’s Maximus fighting in the afterlife. Thankfully, that outlandish sequel never came to fruition. Instead, more than two decades later, we have Gladiator II stepping foot into the arena with the son of Maximus.
Set sixteen years after the events of the first movie, Gladiator II starts off in Numidia, where we see a grown Lucius (Paul Mescal), the grandson of Marcus Aurelius and the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielson) and Maximus, living under the name Hanno. Lucilla sent him away from Rome immediately after Maximus's death for fear of his safety. His life in Numidia is upended by the arrival of the conquering Romans, led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal).
Lucius finds himself sold into slavery, much like Maximus, bought by Macrinus (Denzel Washington), who sees something in his fighting and promises Lucius a chance at revenge in the gladiatorial arena of the Colosseum if he fights hard enough. A celebration held for General Acacius and his feats by the co-emperors of Rome, twin brothers Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), presents varying degrees of opportunity to Lucius, Macrinus, Acacius, and Lucilla.
Ridley Scott effectively recreates the look and feel of his 2000 film with some thrilling battles and gladiatorial fights. It follows a familiar pattern of a warrior journey from the fringes of the Roman Empire to the heart of the city. And there is just as much political intrigue as in the first film, maybe even more, in fact. Nielsen’s Lucilla still believes in the “dream that was Rome” that her father espoused, as do others.
Lucius, for his part, is blinded by his quest for revenge for a good portion of the film while also being disillusioned by the corruption of Rome and how it spreads like a disease, killing everything it touches. Mescal gives a convincing physical performance, but given the shadow of Crowe’s Maximus that seemingly lingers over everything on screen, falls short of living up to that impossible standard. He does have some quieter scenes with the doctor of the colosseum, which are some of the better non-action moments in the film.
As far as supporting roles go, it should be to no one’s surprise that Denzel shines the brightest, diving into the role of Macrinus with glee and revelry. He gets to do some scene-chewing, acts rather flamboyantly compared to most of his other performances, and is devilishly conniving in trying to become a power player in Roman politics. It is an atypical Denzel Washington performance, but it’s also almost always entertaining.
Sadly, Pedro Pascal is woefully underutilized outside of the opening act of the film, sidelined by too much of the movie's muddy politics. Acacius comes off as a competent general, weary of the fighting and killing he has done, but also alarmingly naïve about the political games of Rome.
As one of the few returning actors from the first film, Connie Nielson’s Lucilla seems tasked with being the keeper of the flame of the original movie. She carries on in her father’s belief in Rome, in quiet opposition to the corrupt, cruel, and depraved co-emperors. Neither of them attempts to recreate the brilliance of Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus, but the characters certainly evoke an air of Commodus in erratic behavior.
I wanted very much to enjoy this film, especially with a promising up-and-coming actor like Mescal as the lead, but I was rather underwhelmed by the movie. Gladiator II takes shortcuts that Gladiator did not. It fast-tracks Lucius’ path to Rome and the Colosseum. Where Maximus grew as a fighter on the fringes of the empire and eventually was brought to Rome by Proximo, Lucius, Macrinus, and company head to Rome almost immediately after Lucius had been bought.
The gladiatorial combat in the arena reeks of the constant fallacy of sequels constantly needing to make the fights bigger and better but ultimately end up being outlandish. There is a pretty decent battle with a gladiator riding a rhino, but that is followed up with a recreation of a naval battle where the Colosseum is flooded, and sharks patrol the waters. Gladiator, and by extension, Ridley Scott, was never all that interested in historical accuracy. Audiences should never rely on movies to be taught history, but as I left the theater, after everything I had just seen for two and a half hours, the question I could not shake was, “But how did they get sharks to the Colosseum?”
This movie also suffers from legacy-sequel-itis. There must be echoes of dialogue from the first movie and indications from the new scriptwriter or director (though not in this case) that they saw the original movie. I’m not sure if it is because angry and territorial fanbases have made moviemakers this way or it is because of a lack of originality in Hollywood, but too much in these sequels feels like a need to prove their bona fides to the audience instead of just telling the story.
It also suffers from something other recent sequels have done, which is to undo and undermine some important parts of the original source material. Gladiator II is perhaps most akin to a movie like Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in this regard because the story undermines and cheapens the sacrifice of a major character from a previous film. Maximus gave his life to save Rome.
Historically speaking, we know that Rome ultimately cannot be saved, but there was a nobleness to his sacrifice. Seeing it mostly ends up being in service of someone else’s story, in this case, his son, diminishes the luster of the first a little bit.
Gladiator II brings some spectacle, its own form of bread and circus, to the big screen. Despite his best efforts, much like with his Alien prequels, Ridley Scott cannot quite recreate the magic of his original. The final product is only a pale imitation of the original, which looms large over everything. I was open to the possibility, but I was not all that entertained. But at least Maximus wasn’t fighting Pluto in the underworld.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.