Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II is Grand Entertainment to Witness
Image Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
By Luis Zonenberg
Almost twenty-five years after the release of Gladiator, Ridley Scott returns to the Colosseum to bring audiences the sequel they never asked for. Being in development hell for well over 15 years, the project was passed from writer to writer until it was finally announced in 2018. Six years later, Paramount and Scott finally bore fruit and it is much more epic but incohesive than its predecessor.
The story focuses on Lucius Verus “Hanno” Aurelius (Paul Mescal) seeking revenge for the death of his wife after being enslaved by the Roman Empire. He seeks the head of General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) who currently plans to overthrow the tyrannical emperors in power. Both of their plans are soon put in jeopardy as the cunning Macrinus (Denzel Washington) plots to wipe out Rome itself.
The story of the movie is very overstuffed, with multiple plotlines happening at once. One is a pretty safe retelling of the original with Lucius while two others detail intricate political maneuvers for control of the Roman Empire. Some of these storylines are even sacrificed earlier on, so the others can follow which allows for a lot of discontinuity between all the events coinciding in the film.
The movie is packed with a star-studded cast any director would dream of having and all of them deliver very engrossing performances. The one outlier might be Paul Mescal as he couldn’t help but feel like a more hollow version of Maximus. Aside from that though, the rest of the cast were such a joy to watch with Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal stealing the show whenever they popped up on-screen.
The real highlight of this film though is the sheer spectacle of carnage and gladiators combating for honor in the arena. The action scenes were grand in scale and made it worthy of watching this movie on a huge screen. The term “epic” in terms of film has been thrown around very little nowadays, but I truly feel that this movie is one I would consider worthy of that title.
The VFX of this movie was very hit or miss, with some so slick and immersive while others stuck out like a shark swimming in a Roman Colosseum. The practical effects used for the gore or the CGI used to replicate the historical aesthetic of Rome were really impressive to watch. Whenever it focused on more fantastical elements, you can easily tell they were probably not rendered during the heights of the Roman Empire.
While this sequel may not have been necessary, I will stand by the fact that it is a hugely entertaining film for adults to watch during the holidays. The engrossing performances and epic scale of the action help immerse the audience in a fun time at the movies. It may not be the original, but Gladiator II boasts enough entertainment that the emperor himself would give a thumbs up.
Gladiator II is playing in theaters now.
Rating: ★★★ ½ of five
