Movie Review: Gladiator II

The original Gladiator came out nearly a quarter of a century ago but it still holds up remarkably well today, telling a focused story about the plight of severely wronged Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) as he seeks revenge against the cruel emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), filled with epic fight sequences and just the right amount of palace intrigue. It also felt like its story was complete when the credits began to roll, leaving little obvious room for a sequel, which is perhaps why it has taken so long for one to be made. Written by Peter Craig and David Scarpa, this new story has some obvious similarities to the first, but is still a very different movie that unsurprisingly can’t attain the greatness of the its predecessor but is still worth watching in its own right.

Picking up 16 years after the events of Gladiator, Hanno (Paul Mescal) lives with his wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen) in the African nation of Numidia, one of the last holdouts against Rome’s latest expansionist push. When the Roman army arrives by sea, led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal), the couple join their countrymen in taking up arms, putting up a good fight but ultimately losing, and costing Arishat her life. Hanno is captured as a slave and taken to Rome where he is purchased by Macrinus (Denzel Washington) to fight as a gladiator.

Rome has once again fallen under the control of tyrannical leadership, this time in the form of twin emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), who revel in the increasingly wild and violent spectacle of the gladiatorial games. Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) is still a member of the royal court and is now married to General Acacius, though her son is nowhere in sight (which means it shouldn’t take a genius to figure out who he actually is). Hanno blames Acacius for the death of his wife and yearns for vengeance, which Macrinus has promised him as long as he fights well, so of course, he does. All the while, many are growing weary of the cruel and debauched twins, and plans are beginning to take shape to depose them.

While this is ostensibly Hanno’s story, the supporting cast is given much more screen time this go around, which is just as well as he is a less compelling character than Crowe’s Maximus. Mescal is decent in the role, but lacks that special something that made it so easy to believe he could quickly rally people to his side. Of course, Maximus was already a beloved general when we joined his story and Hanno is effectively a nobody from a distant land, so it makes sense.

If any character would seem to most closely resemble Maximus, it would be Acacius, who Hanno views as an enemy. Pascal nails the role, but proves to be one of the less important people here. Nielsen’s return is a welcome sight, and she is given much more to do this time around, and Quinn and Hechinger are clearly having a blast hamming it up as the deranged emperors. Washington may give the best performance of the movie however, oozing an oily charisma that makes him one of the year’s most memorable villains.

As is usually the case with sequels, the level of spectacle has been cranked way up. Simple man on man gladiator fights are basically gone, replaced with wild baboons, a rhinoceros, and even boats surrounded by sharks. It does lead to some thrilling sequences but teeters dangerously close to outright ridiculousness, the sharks especially. The backroom scheming is also brought to the forefront this time around and proves highly engaging, leading to a satisfying if slightly unearned finale.

There was virtually no chance that this movie would live up to the original, so it’s no surprise that it doesn’t, but director Ridley Scott proves that he still knows his way around an action epic. You shouldn’t come in to Gladiator II looking for a history lesson, but lovers of Hollywood spectacle will have a blast as this is one of the most purely entertaining movies of the year. ★★★★