Gladiator II review and star rating: ★★★★☆
Of all the long-delayed comebacks this year, Gladiator II seemed the most puzzling. Mostly because the star of the original, Russell Crowe, was unlikely to return given his character Maximus very famously dies at the end. Nevertheless, 24 years on from the Oscar winning classic, a new take on Roman revenge is upon us.
Set 16 years after the events of the first film, Ridley Scott directs a new chapter starring Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers) as Lucius Versus, the royal son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) who witnessed Maximus’ death alongside his mother, but was smuggled away for his safety. Now living happily in Numidia on the African coast, his peace is shattered when Roman armies invade, kill his wife, and take him as a slave.
Filled with rage, he is taken to Rome with no one knowing his identity, and is forced to fight as a gladiator. He captures the eye of gladiator trainer Macrinus (Denzel Washington) who promises a shot at revenge if he impresses in the arena. Lucius soon finds himself in the middle of a plot to overthrow Rome’s sadistic twin emperors, Geta and Caracalla (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger).
The plot is markedly similar to the first. A man who was meant to rule Rome loses everything and becomes a gladiator to get revenge, only this time there’s 24 years of special effects development to play with. Everything is bigger, bloodier, and more salacious. A weakness of Scott’s directing in the past has been a tendency to go overboard with effects and lore, but the setting of Gladiator II seems immune to those predilections. So, we get CGI apes getting throttled to death, slaves being beheaded, and a rather epic boat battle in a flooded coliseum.
There’s a touch of Game of Thrones to all the scheming and gore, as Mescal kills both man and beast in increasingly visceral ways while those who watch on plot the future of the empire. It’s not especially subtle, but if you liked the first film there’s a lot of fun to be had here. One marked difference from the 2000 film is Washington, who is superb.
Rather than mimicking the Oliver Reed mentor role, Macrinus is a shades of grey character that brings some surprising twists to the latter stages of the film. Filled with the aura of a movie legend, he’s by far the best performer in an already talented cast. Mescal is impressive, doing a decent job of being the kind of brooding figure that’s required. His rage contrasts with the melancholic dignity of Pedro Pescal, playing the Roman general who took Lucius’ home under orders of his emperors. Quinn and Hechinger aren’t quite as menacing as Joaquin Phoenix, but fill a similar role being the effete, cruel juxtaposition to our noble heroes.
Nielsen and Derek Jacobi are the only original cast members to return, but are mostly there to deliver exposition and emotional stakes. An epic built for the big screen, Gladiator II is a spectacle that is worthy of its prestigious predecessor, even if it never quite surpasses it.
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