Gladiator II review: This sequel falls short of its masterpiece predecessor, but still offers a ton of far-fetched and ferocious fun
Gladiator II (Paramount Photos)
For some, the original Gladiator was Sir Ridley Scott’s masterpiece 24 years ago. Mind you, he also gave us Alien, Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise, not to mention the famous 1973 advert for Hovis, the one where the delivery man pushes his bike up the steep cobblestone street – ‘T’ was like bread brought to the store. top of the world!’ – to the tune of Dvorák’s New World Symphony.
As the battle went uphill, it was a piece of cake compared to the twenty-plus years it took to get Gladiator II from the drawing board to the screen.
But the job is done now, and even though this sequel rarely reaches the high level of the first film, and takes some Roman liberties with historical truths, it’s still worth a solid thumbs up.
Normal People plays Paul Mescal in the Paramount Pictures Gladiator II
Lucius played by Paul and Marcus Acacius played by The Last Of Us star Pedro Pascal
The first film stars the excellent Paul Mescal as Lucius, the young nephew of the dastardly Emperor Commodus.
Lucius hasn’t seen his mother, Commodus’ sister Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), in years. He somehow ended up in Numidia, North Africa, where he’s built a whole new life, not to mention a mighty set of adult muscles.
Lucius has been living there in marital bliss, but that is about to change. The Roman fleet arrives from across the Mediterranean, led by the formidable general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal).
Lucius bravely leads the Numidian resistance, but in vain. He and his fellow soldiers are shipped off to Rome as slaves and to add to his grievances, imagine what happens to his beautiful wife. Nothing good.
You can almost hear the cogs in Scott’s mind turning like wagon wheels as he and screenwriter David Scarpa come up with unsubtle parallels to the original film, in which, you’ll recall, Russell Crowe’s Maximus Decimus Meridius was “the father of a murdered son.” , husband of a murdered woman’.
Soon Lucius, like Maximus before him, is chosen for his dazzling gladiator qualities.
A shady arms dealer named Macrinus (Denzel Washington, camping his lines with barely concealed glee) makes him his champion, noting that “the anger flows out of you like milk.”
Certainly Lucius isn’t intimidated by anything the Colosseum can throw at him, from murderous baboons to, in a cinematic flourish that’s all but guaranteed to have historians of ancient Rome throwing their textbooks at the screen, a saddled warrior rhinoceros.
Paul depicted during a gladiator fight
Macrinus played by The Equalizer star Denzel Washington
And let’s not even get started on the wild sharks brought in to liven up the recreation of a naval battle.
Meanwhile, Rome has become a cesspool of depravity and corruption under the rotten rule of the slimy emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and his twin brother Caracalla (Fred Hechinger).
Hechinger is said to have modeled Caracalla on Johnny Rotten, while the syphilitic Geta was reportedly partly inspired by Sid Vicious.
Having warmed to the rhino and the sharks, I’m all for this unlikely merger of ancient Rome and the Sex Pistols.
The over-the-top gruesomeness of the Emperors borders on the comical, but it’s best not to take any of this seriously.
Predictably, there are no limits to the wild imperial ambitions of Geta and Caracalla. With Numidia successfully annexed, Acacius is ordered to conquer Persia and India next.
A pretty decent bay, he realizes that the terrible twins – think Jedward in togas – are bad news for Rome. So he hatches a plan with his wife, none other than the fragrant Lucilla, to overthrow them.
Lucilla is all for a coup, but that requires her to settle an important family matter as she realizes that Lucius is her long-lost son. He also made the connection, but initially wants nothing to do with her.
Emperor Geta played by Game Of Thrones star Joseph Quinn
Lucilla played by Wonder Woman star Connie Nielsen
There’s also the uncomfortable detail that he has vowed to kill her husband, Acacius, who we now know is his stepfather.
As for his real father, we already know his identity from the film’s trailer, so this can’t count as a spoiler.
Lucius is the son of the heroic but long-dead Maximus, which certainly explains why he can subdue a murderous baboon while simultaneously confusing everything we were led to believe in the first film.
Yes, Scott’s lofty disregard for historical truths even extends to his own story, but let’s not hold that against him. At 86, the old boy still knows how to make a sword-and-sandals epic, so to hell with the facts.
Gladiator II hits theaters on Friday.
