Maverick Life

Visceral, enjoyable, but formulaic, Gladiator II fails to match the heart and fill the leather sandals of its predecessor

Gladiator II stars the likes of Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn and a returning Connie Nielsen. Image: Paramount Pictures.

By Noelle Adams

22 Nov 2024

It’s still a rousing and technically polished blockbuster, but Gladiator II follows the playbook of its Oscar-winning predecessor so closely that it’s sacrificed a lot of freshness, and hasn’t found space for its own deeply affecting poignancy.

Even with Ridley Scott back in the director’s chair, the historical action epic Gladiator II and its new cast were always going to have big sandals to fill. Not only was its 2000 predecessor that year’s Academy Award winner for Best Picture, racking up four other Oscars in the process, but Gladiator was the second-highest-grossing film of the period, with several of its quotes seeping into the public lexicon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts0N8swyWFI

“Are you not entertained?”

If one approaches Gladiator II solely with that question, the answer is a confident, “Yes.”

Best enjoyed without exposure to trailers and other preview material, which spoil some of the film’s big plot reveals, Gladiator II is, well, more Gladiator.

While it’s debatable whether new lead Paul Mescal, and Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger as the film’s twin villains, have the same commanding screen presence of Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix in the original, Gladiator II delivers almost everything audiences would want from another crowd-pleasing blockbuster set in the Ancient World.

Paul Mescal plays widowed prisoner-of-war Lucius in Gladiator II. (Image: Paramount Pictures)

Pedro Pascal plays Marcus Acacius in Gladiator II from Paramount Pictures.

Like rowers below deck on its warships, Gladiator II hits every beat: Literal life-or-death combat in the arena, similarly brutal battlefield scenes, grief-stoked revenge as a motivator, and so much cloaked conniving and treachery in the passageways of Roman villas, all while playing fast and loose with historical records.

But Gladiator II is too faithful to its predecessor’s narrative structure, as it robs the new film of freshness. Consistently, those aspects that do break from the formula typically shine brightest.

Set 16 years after the events of Gladiator, here another man finds himself fighting in the Colosseum, using every encounter to bring himself closer to retribution. This time it’s Lucius (Mescal), a widowed prisoner of war as the result of Rome’s violent invasion of his adopted home in North Africa.

The reticent and secretive hero has his blade set on brilliant general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) but is unaware that the commander is weary of conquest at the command of unhinged emperors Geta (Quinn) and Caracalla (Hechinger). Acacius, with his wife Lucilla (a returning Connie Nielsen), in fact, has plans to depose the corrupt and cruel rulers, who have brought suffering to so many. Observing this all over the rim of his wine cup, meanwhile is scheming former slave turned powerful political player Macrinus (Denzel Washington).

Denzel Washington is the figure who really mixes things up in Gladiator II.

While the two-hour-30-minute film starts strong, later on, much like a tiring fighter, it starts to turn sluggish, but there’s always the Oscar winner to electrify every scene that the slippery Macrinus appears in. Paralleled with another new character, in the form of Ravi (Alexander Karim), a freed gladiator turned arena doctor, the foreign men of colour also provide a different perspective on the “dream of Rome” that privileged nobles like Lucilla uphold.

Tried and tested

Denzel Washington as Macrinus in Gladiator II, is one of the sequel's ‘fresh’ components and is worth the price of admission alone. (Image: Paramount Pictures)

No stranger to the Gladiator world, Connie Nielsen plays Lucilla in Gladiator II. (Image: Paramount Pictures)

Joseph Quinn is the villainous Emperor Geta in Gladiator II. (Image: Paramount Pictures)

So, yes, there are a few new things to appreciate in Gladiator II, at a thematic level, but overall, the film is going the tried-and-tested sequel route: more of what people loved, in combination with a general “more” attitude all around.

Whereas the 2000 Gladiator opened with a muddy ground campaign pitting Roman forces against German barbarians, in Gladiator II, audiences are treated to a meticulously staged coastal clash between the inhabitants of Numidia and the Roman navy. There’s also a first-time on-screen depiction of naval re-enactments at the Colosseum. Gladiator II is genuinely jaw-dropping at times with its scope and is best experienced on the big screen.

Once again, the film relies on a mix of CGI and practical effects to bring its world to life, although it’s obvious when the former is being relied on, and that lessens audience immersion somewhat.

At least there’s the magnificent costuming and production design to appreciate, and the fight choreography is fast, visceral and visually coherent. Audiences may wish the combat scenes were longer as they typically cap quickly, and are considerably more engaging than the political plays and familial drama happening elsewhere.

And that is the Achilles Heel of Gladiator II: it ticks a lot of boxes, but, like its more guarded, hurt protagonist, it doesn’t demonstrate much emotional warmth to win over viewers at a deeper level.

Post-Wonder Woman, the ever-more-regal Nielsen strives to fill that role, but the film lacks the chest-squeezing poignancy viewers will forever associate with Maximus walking through the wheat fields of Elysium to composer Hans Zimmer and singer Lisa Gerrard’s haunting collaboration.

Ridley Scott is back on form making a highly entertaining and technically polished blockbuster with Gladiator II, but it’s ultimately missing what made the first Gladiator so special: heart that earns audience investment and lasting admiration. DM

Gladiator II stars the likes of Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn and a returning Connie Nielsen. Image: Paramount Pictures.

Gladiator II is in cinemas, including showing on large format Imax and 4DX screens, from Friday, 15 November.

This article was first published on PFangirl.

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