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Gladiator II Review
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures
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Directed By: Ridley Scott
Written By: David Scarpa and Peter Craig
Runtime: 150 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated R for strong bloody violence
Paul Mescal – Lucius Aurelius Verus
Denzel Washington – Macrinus
Pedro Pascal – Marcus Acacius
Connie Nielsen – Lucilla
Joseph Quinn – Emperor Geta
Fred Hechinger – Emperor Caracalla
Tim McInnerny – Senator Thraex
Derek Jacobi – Senator Gracchus
Alexander Karim – Ravi
Lior Raz – Vigo
Rory McCann – Tegula
Yuval Gonen – Arishat
Filmmaker Ridley Scott returns to one of the most successful films of his career, the blood-soaked, sword-and-sandals, historical epic Gladiator. The original Best Picture-winning film is undeniably iconic. The film relies heavily on the story of its lead character, Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe in a performance that netted him Best Actor). A Gladiator sequel seems strange because it was never a film that cried out for a continuation. The original film told a complete story with a proper ending. At best, a sequel for Gladiator feels wholly unnecessary. Scott crafting Gladiator II exemplifies the current state of IP-obsessed cinema. While there have been some cinematic success stories creating legacy sequels decades after their previous entries, Gladiator II fails to rise above the pack.
The sequel’s story follows a now-adult Lucius Aurelius Verus (Mescal), the grandson of the slain Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius (Richard Harris) in the previous movie, and the son of Lucilla (Nielsen). Gladiator II picks up 16 years after the end of the original film. Lucius was sent away into exile in his youth for his safety, spending the intervening years living in peaceful solitude in Numidia. He lives the quiet life of a farmer with his beloved wife, Arishat (Gonen). Unfortunately, their solemn days come to an end at the hands of a Roman invasion, as General Marcus Acacius (Pascal) leads an invasion of Lucius and Arishat’s home at the behest of the current co-emperors of Rome, the unhinged twins Geta (Quinn) and Caracalla (Hechinger). Arishat meets her end in battle on Acacius’ orders, with Lucius getting imprisoned, sold into slavery, and forced to take part in gladiatorial combat under the oversight of his new owner, Macrinus (Washington).
Lucius’ new life as a gladiator brings him back to his storied homeland. Macrinus views potential with Lucius, and the ambitious gladiator promoter seeks to gain the confidence of the easily malleable Roman emperors. Blinded by his rage, Lucius seeks the head of Acacius, not yet realizing that Acacius is the husband and protector of Lucius’ long-lost mother, Lucilla. With the Roman empire on the precipice of collapse, it took a reluctant prodigal son to restore his grandfather’s dream of a free, self-governed Rome.
Gladiator II hinges so heavily on the first film that it lacks an identity and power of its own. The film heavily relies on nostalgia and appreciation for the original to power its narrative, which quickly runs out of steam. As a protagonist, Lucius never comes into his own as a character. The film heavily fixates on Lucius’ connection to Maximus, demanding that the audience root for him because of their relationship. As a result, Gladiator II lacks any narrative authority or authenticity.
Mescal brings little to the table as the lead. His performance as Lucius often plays as disappointingly one-note, and he mainly expresses his abject rage and little else. It makes Lucius difficult to sympathize and connect with on an emotional level. The plot never harmonizes with the immersion of Lucius’ journey. Mescal presents an impressive physique and physicality to the role but lacks a magnetic charisma. His brand of charismatic stoicism often plays very forcefully.
The film’s presentation of Lucius as a leader is clunkily executed. One sequence showcases Lucius and the other gladiators training for the film’s naval battle sequence due to take place at the Roman Colosseum. Lucius appears more like a lone wolf in the scene, not desiring the help of his gladiatorial comrades. However, later scenes depict Lucius effectively commanding and leading his fellow gladiators. Perhaps this is due to missing scenes on the cutting room floor, but the editing errs in properly depicting Lucius’ growth into natural leadership.
Elsewhere, the main intrigue from the plot comes in the form of Acacius and Lucilla, who are displayed as objectors of the twin emperor’s leadership and seek the means to depose them. While the film means to depict Acacius as a noble, heroic character, Pascal’s performance feels decidedly flat, and he lacks any romantic chemistry with Lucilla. Much like Lucius, Acacius lacks a well-defined character, mainly relying on hollow words of his love for Marcus Aurelius and Maximus to build sympathy for his plight.
The film’s greatest tragedy is the treatment of Derek Jacobi, who reprises his role in the original film as Senator Gracchus. As one of the few returning from the original, it was disheartening to see Gracchus so heavily marginalized to the edges of the film and treated in such a negligible manner.
Twin Emperors Geta and Caracalla offer little to the plot besides their one-dimensional insanity. David Scarpa’s script fails to flesh out the twins as characters who aren’t the true villains. The despots emerge as easily manipulated puppets playing by the strings controlled by Macrinus. While the opening crawl states that the Roman Empire is on the precipice of collapse, the film takes too long to present discontent and rebellion among the public. The film lacks a proper buildup to showcase the growing discord with Rome’s citizens as a powder keg that’s about to explode. Once again, the narrative plays like important scenes that would have served the plot’s cohesion are missing in action.
Running roughly two-and-a-half hours long, Gladiator II suffers from a laborious pacing that lacks palpable momentum. Lucius’ journey lacks verve and resonance. There are some decently reflective moments where Lucius bonds with a Colosseum medic, Ravi (Karim), more from Karim’s impressive performance work with his minimal material throughout the runtime.
Despite the sequel’s shortcomings, Gladiator II delivers pure cinematic spectacle in terms of large-scale action sequences, lavish production values, and elaborate sets. Production designer and longtime Scott collaborator Arthur Max returned to work on the sequel. The fight sequences in the Coliseum look impressive despite the lack of effervescent characters. It appears Scott depicts moments he never had the opportunity to execute in the original, specifically in a battle with a gladiator riding a rhinoceros into battle. The naval sequence in the Coliseum is visually stunning, even with sharks in the water. Are the sharks in the water historically accurate? Probably not, but Gladiator was never beloved for strict historical accuracy or authenticity. It’s a matter of the story looking and feeling convincing. Gladiator II mostly pulls that off, save for a combat gladiatorial sequence involving feral baboons, rendered with awful, dated-looking CGI.
While mileage may vary, Denzel Washington’s performance as Macrinus will likely decide how one subjectively views the film. Scott views Macrinus as his muse for this story. Macrinus nearly emerges as a secondary protagonist, less so as a manipulative villain who wants to usurp power for himself. Nevertheless, Washington’s characterization feels out of sorts for the period and never quite gels with the setting. Once the film reaches the final act, the story runs out of gas and feels very anti-climactic.
While audiences might still find elements to like here, Gladiator II fails to prove its worth as a sword-and-sandals epic, seeking rote thrills from a rehashed, reheated plot. No, I am not entertained.
