Twenty-four years later we are stepping back into the iconic colosseum for a sequel that really no one saw coming.
After his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum and must look to his past to find strength to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Remember watching movies on cable? Those were the days, and Gladiator, which came out all the way back in the year 2000, is a prime example of one of those movies. A rewatchable to the highest degree. I would classify Gladiator as one of the ultimate Dad movies. You can bet your ass that if this movie was on the TV, your Dad had his eyes locked onto the screen watching. A movie about fatherhood in itself, Dad’s will typically do two things after this movie is finished, cry and whisper to themselves “great movie.” The original showcased two of the better actors going toe-to-toe with their performances in one of the best movies in the first ten years of this century. When Ridley Scott decided it was time for a sequel, it was a crazy thought, given how Gladiator ends. It’s a perfect ending, so why potentially ruin a good thing? Well one thing we have learned is that Ridley Scott who is in his late 80’s is a crazy son of a bitch. Who is still making movies every single year, that is nuts.
Let’s just clear the air right away, there was no way that this was even going to sniff the original Gladiator. A movie that won best picture and best actor at the Oscars. So if you went in with those sort of expectations, that is on you. Shifting our attention to Gladiator II, it picks up 16 years later, where we find Lucius (Paul Mescal) out on his own after being separated from his mother Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). He’s a fierce warrior much like his father, and has a family of his own now. The dream that Marcus had for Rome at the end of Gladiator did not last long, it’s now ruled by twin brother emperors, Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). When General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) leads his army into battle and Lucius suffers a tragic loss and ends up much like his father a slave and a Gladiator. Owned by the conniving and devious Macrinus (Denzel Washington) it will be up to Lucius to give the people of Rome something to strive for, some hope.
Here’s the thing, this movie is very clearly lacking the same emotional punch that its predecessor carried. It’s a combination of the acting and this movie, kind of following the same emotional beats. It’s hard to feel as invested when you know what’s going to happen. This is some big Hollywood movie making, movies that we need in our lives, but then Ridley Scott has some really questionable decisions being made, that totally take you out of the movie completely. This is a big epic, that features some incredible action set pieces, potential award winning performances, it just had such large shoes to fill, that it’s hard to take this movie seriously. It’s almost following the exact same beats, so for myself, I was just waiting for the action to hit. Sadly, one of the biggest criticism I have of the movie is the excessive use of CGI animals. It takes you out of this beautiful looking action, which should have been the highlight of the movie. The reason why the first movie works so well is how personal it feels, even the battles within the colosseum feel very personal. You don’t need to put a bunch of lights and bows on gladiator fights, that’s not what makes them special. It’s a major problem I have with these modern blockbusters, which is leaning too heavily on CGI in moments where it clearly takes you out of what you are watching on the big screen. I felt this way recently while watching Twisters.
Mescal and Washington do their best to carry this thing, but Mescal certainly doesn’t have the same gravitas as Russell Crowe and I’m not blaming him, because no one would. Just something feels like it’s missing and I can’t quite put my finger on it. I can sum it up as a great night at the movies, but ultimately disappointing. This probably falls on my shoulders, overhyping the movie going in, praying that this legacy sequel could live up to my own hype, but also something like Top Gun: Maverick. It came so close to being something special but it falls short. I wanted this one to blow me away and be one of the best of the year for me, sadly it won’t be.
Gladiator II = 63/100
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