Gladiator II, directed by Ridley Scott, is a follow-up to his beloved classic, Gladiator. Like most modern “requels” (re-boot sequels), since the announcement of this movie, I’ve contemplated its necessity. The first movie was a self-contained story that ended beautifully, a story of revenge that ended with both main characters dying (spoiler alert, I guess, but it’s been 24 years). Going into this movie I was concerned the only way this movie could justify itself was by undoing the ending of the original, but after seeing it, I think they pulled it off.
The first half of this movie feels like a faster-paced version of the original. Lucius, our main character (Paul Mescal), suffers a great loss and then is bought and sold as a Gladiator. From this moment on, all Lucius cares about is taking the life of the man who killed his loved one, the general of the Roman Empire, Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal). What might seem like a basic near-remake of the original takes an unexpected turn. Rather than villainizing Acacius, Ridley Scott tells a different story by humanizing him and making him a likable character. This adds so much more tension because we know Lucius and Acacius will eventually clash and only one of them will make it out alive. Making us root for both of them creates an exciting conflict, which was my favorite aspect of this film. That being said, there still are a lot parallels between this requel and the original. While this may be nostalgic for some, over the course of this 2-and-a-half-hour runtime, it can get a little slow at times, seeing stuff we’ve already seen from the original.
When it comes to acting, this movie had some great performances. Paul Mescal as Lucius absolutely kills it. He doesn’t try to overshadow Russel Crow or follow too closely in his footsteps; instead, he makes it his own and puts some more raw emotion into his character. Where Maximus cared about honor and strength, Lucius spent most of this film full of rage and willing to take it out on pretty much anyone. We see his emotions start to change, especially when his mother gets involved in the story and we definitely get to see a lot of growth from this character internally. Pedro Pascal knocks it out of the park, per usual. He manages to somehow take a character you don’t initially like, and make you question that throughout the movie. He conveys the internal struggle of what he knows is right, and what the empire wants in a subtle but effective manner. On the flip side of the subtle is Denzel Washington, who plays Macrinus. To no one’s surprise, Washington is the highlight of this film. He steals every single scene he is in and is so entertaining to watch on screen. This movie took his characters places I wasn’t expecting, but Washington grounds it and makes the transition seem flawless and natural.
The fighting in this movie will likely be a big draw for audiences, and I can confirm it doesn’t disappoint. Comparing the action from this film to that of its predecessor is not even a competition. Everything from the choreography down to the way it’s edited, these fight scenes are miles better. Admittedly, I would have liked to see more basic combat in this movie. They seemed to constantly be trying to “up the ante” from the first movie, and in most cases, I think it was overdone.
In the end, my biggest issue with this movie was the pacing. Coming in at 2 hours and 28 minutes, this movie is hefty. There were a lot of scenes that dragged on unnecessarily long and did not feel nearly as justified as the original. Having a longer runtime for the first is more fitting as it was our introduction to this world and its people. In this film, a lot is more or less the same. So, where the original was packed with exposition and world-building, this one has filler. It wasn’t a huge issue, but it was enough to leave me checking my watch once or twice throughout the movie.
Overall, I’d give this movie a 3.5 out of 5. While I do believe the original is better, I think this movie was able to justify its existence by continuing the story of Lucius and his mother and putting a nice bow on each character’s arc. That being said, a third Gladiator film is supposedly in talks, and I don’t find a need for this whatsoever. If you were a fan of the original I’d say definitely give this one a watch, but if you’re looking for a first-time introduction to this world, I’d say just stick with the original!
