It’s daunting to produce a sequel to a film that came out almost a quarter century ago and won Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor. In other words, how do you make a sequel to a classic…in the case of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, maybe you don’t.
Set 15 years after the events of the first Gladiator, Paul Mescal plays Lucius Verus, an orphan in his youth living in North Africa. His king and country are captured by the Romans, led by the cunning General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), who enslaves Lucius along with his surviving countrymen. When Lucius’ love, Arishat (Yuval Gonen), is killed by Marcus’ arrow, Lucius vows revenge on the general.
When Lucius arrives in Rome, he is purchased by the shrewd Macrinus (Denzel Washington) to compete in gladiator fights at the Coliseum. Lucius agrees to train and fight with the promise of one day vanquishing Marcus. In turn, Macrinus hopes to use his stable of fighters to ingratiate himself with Rome’s emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger).
Meanwhile, Marcus Acacius and his love, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), plan to overthrow the emperors with a massive army loyal to Marcus. It’s now a matter of finding the right moment to strike.
Gladiator II is half a movie and relies heavily on flashbacks from the first Gladiator to build sympathy for its characters. To my first point, the story feels rushed, while at the same time, it feels long at its two-hour ten-minute runtime. The story is full of twists, leaving you with a bout or two of whiplash by the end.
“…he is purchased by the shrewd Macrinus to compete in gladiator fights…”
To my second point, let’s just say that Lucius has a startling connection to the first film—that’s no real surprise. With constant references to the first film, sympathy is bestowed upon Lucius rather than earned. Lucius is a leader of the fallen—why? Because he does leader things but falls short of truly earning it along the way.
What about Washington and Pascal? They must bring some gravitas to the story. Yes and no. Denzel is a great actor, but throughout the film, he comes across as Denzel Washington and not necessarily the mastermind of the potential fall of Rome. For a supposed great general, he comes across as weak. We never get the sense of why an army would be loyal to him other than that he’s not like the current emperors.
The ultimate downfall of the film is the CGI. The first real gladiator fight is against a pack of rabid gorillas. The effect makes them look like mutant monkeys. Even the sweeping vistas of Africa and Rome look fake. Is it me, or is Jurassic Park still the greatest CG movie ever made?
But we’re here for the fighting, which is OK. We’ve seen this before. The added water battle in the Coliseum is a nice touch, but ultimately, the stakes are not high enough to make Gladiator II feel anything like the first Gladiator.
The third act is the most interesting. It feels like Director Scott is hoping to “Make Rome Great Again,” but ultimately, Gladiator II falls far short of being a great, let alone good movie. Maybe we live in a time when the bloody action initially seemed too graphic, and now we’ve got to hold back. Holding back is never good in cinema.
Ultimately, Gladiator II swings for glory, but it gets a thumbs down in the end. The promising intrigue and star power can’t overcome its reliance on CGI and nostalgic callbacks, leaving it feeling hollow compared to the visceral impact of the original. Despite a few sparks in the third act, this sequel will leave fans wondering if some legends are better left in the arena.
"…the ultimate downfall of the film is the CGI."
