It’s been 24 years since Gladiator was released and it remains one of my favorite movies of all time. I rewatched it recently and it still holds up exceptionally well. It starts strong and ends with equal fortitude. The hero’s journey is complete with Maximus’ death, as he sacrificially saves Lucilla, her son Lucius, as well as Rome itself from the egomaniacal Emperor Commodus.
I wish Ridley Scott would leave his blockbuster masterpiece alone, but of course, Hollywood’s case of sequelitis is too strong to overcome. There’s reportedly a script by musician Nick Cave in 2009 that’s been dubbed ‘the strangest sequel never made’ involving time travel and Jesus Christ (go figure). As bizarre as that concept is, the upside is that Russell Crowe would be back as Maximus, albeit not as a gladiator.
Well, in the end, Crowe is nowhere to be found in Gladiator II, though the spirit of Maximus still haunts the film. Taking place roughly two decades after the original, the 8-year-old Lucius is now an adult living in Numidia, North Africa, and goes by the name Hanno (Paul Mescal). Similar to the first movie, it opens with a big Roman attack with its vast naval forces, led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal). While Maximus was the conqueror, Lucius is on the side of the conquered, with a deep hatred for Rome since his mother, Lucilla, exiled him from the city when he was a boy. After losing his wife in battle, rage and vengeance become Lucius’ fuel for survival.
Scott ensures that those who haven’t seen the first movie are up to speed via various clips done with watercolor filters during the opening credits. Many scenes deliberately echo the first film, from the way the hero often rubs their hands with soil or sand, down to the way certain scenes are lit and shot. What’s drastically different, however, is the tone, which pivots away from a solemn, character-driven piece to a spectacle-driven movie with comedic overtones (whether intentional or not).
The CGI-heavy battle sequences are massive in scale, with the sequences of slaves below deck rowing the Roman ships harkening back to the 1959 Ben-Hur. We get even more fight sequences in the Colosseums, starting with one involving vicious feral monkeys with sharp teeth and a Doberman-like build (They sure are scarier than Oz’s flying monkeys!). Then we’ve got a rhino battle, which feels pretty tame compared to the one coming next. Scott staged a big naval battle with sharks swimming about in the Colosseum, at which point my hubby turned to me and whispered ‘Sharnator!’ Each fight scene is more preposterous than the last, but the cast seems to embrace the inherent silliness and play it like a sporting match.
With every sequel, it’s impossible not to compare this to the original, especially since Scott and screenwriter David Scarpa lean so heavily on the same formula. SFX tech has significantly advanced in the last 20 years, but honestly, that first battle against Germania in the original still feels way more epic to me than any of the big action scenes seen here. For one thing, I miss Hans Zimmer’s phenomenal score. No offense to Harry Gregson-Williams, who I think is a solid composer, but Zimmer’s score is on another level—truly iconic and unforgettable. Thankfully we still hear parts of it during some key scenes, including the timeless Now We Are Free song.
As for the accents, there’s more consistency in the first film where everyone speaks in a somewhat British brogue (though Maximus is supposed to be a Spaniard). Scott pretty much lets everyone speak in whatever accent suits them—the Irish-born Mescal sounds more British and Denzel Washington speaks with his New York accent. An actor of Denzel’s stature can deliver a memorable performance in any accent, but it still takes me out of the film a few times. The veteran actor clearly relishes playing power-hungry Macrinus, a wealthy arms dealer and sly businessman who owns a troop of gladiators. There’s something regal about Denzel and he effortlessly outwits everyone with his charming gangster persona.
Pedro Pascal and Connie Nielsen are underutilized here. Acacius takes a playbook out of Maximus (who might’ve trained him) but he’s nowhere near as intriguing as his mentor. The fight scene between Acacius and Lucius is a highlight but ends predictably. Nielsen gets more screen time, but Lucilla’s arc is the weakest and her relationship with Lucius makes absolutely no sense. We’ve got two evil emperors, twin brothers Geta and Caracalla (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger), but together they don’t even come close to being as threatening or captivating as Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus. I was glad to see Derek Jacobi as another returning character, but while Gracchus had so many memorable lines in the first one, he’s so forgettable here.
Even Mescal’s Lucius the Prince of Rome is but a shadow of the venerable Maximus Decimus Meridius, both in terms of character and the actor’s screen presence. Mescal is a strapping young lad and a talented actor to boot, but he doesn’t command the screen the way Crowe did. It’s not exactly Mescal’s fault as the material doesn’t even give him lines worth quoting for years to come. The only one I remember is his answer to Macrinus’ probing ‘Why does my past matter when my future is to die for you?’ The scenes between Mescal and Washington are fun to watch, however, and Scott has quite a surprise in store involving these two that I did not see coming.
So was I not entertained? Well, as a fan of the Swords-’n-Sandals genre, it was fun to revisit the pomp and circumstance of ancient Rome. The visuals and meticulous world-building are impressive, thanks to production designer Arthur Max and cinematographer John Mathieson who worked on the original. Overall though, the full-throttle action and gladiator battles feel bombastic but lack the awe-inspiring quality. The same with the pivotal scenes, such as when Acacius arrives in Rome in a chariot, it doesn’t quite have that ‘grand entrance’ as when Commodus and Lucilla enter Rome.
Ultimately, the script is the biggest letdown simply because it fails to move me. This sequel is actually seven minutes shorter than the first but feels longer due to pacing issues. Crowe famously called the script of the original as ‘absolute rubbish,’ boy I wonder what he’d say about this one. As a massive Gladiator fan, I went into this sequel with an open mind, ready to give this sequel a fair shot. I asked in this article I wrote back in 2010 if Scott could ever top his masterful Roman epic, I guess the answer is a definite no. Gladiator II barely lives up to the greatness of its predecessor.
FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG 
My only interest in this is Denzel hamming it up while I am extremely intrigued by the script that Nick Cave wrote as I have heard it is INSANE. That’s gotta be in that list of greatest films that never got made like Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Dune, Tim Burton’s Superman Lives, and Man’s Fate.
Endlessly fun to imagine what could have been with those scripts🤣
Denzel is definitely one of the bright spots here, he’s clearly having fun playing Macrius.
I’d love to see someone in Hollywood with the cojones to make Nick Cave’s version of Gladiator sequel, that would be so insane but likely fun to watch! Yeah, same with Burton’s Superman Lives.
What!! Sharks?!?? In the coliseum. This is 10x more ludicrous than I expected. Lmao🏟️🦈
Yep sharks!! It’s not a spoiler as I think I saw a clip or a glimpse of it somewhere online already, but it still made me burst out laughing when I saw it in the movie. Now I don’t mind the insanity of the spectacle, I just wish the story had more heart like the original.
I’m sorry you didn’t like it more! I’m pretty pumped for this. I liked Gladiator, and I’m just here for the spectacle. lol
Well then you will likely have a jolly time. I expected SO MUCH more than that.
I just skimmed through your review here since I’m going to see it on Thursday, my first trip back to theater in months! Lol. But I don’t have high expectations for this one since I wasn’t a fan of the first one when I saw it in theater. The first film grew on me when I gave it another shot when it came out on DVD. Also, I’m not the biggest fan of the first one either, so I’m going into this one with not much expectations.
Well if you didn’t like the first movie, I’m curious how you’d feel about this one. I just think despite the advancement in SFX technology, the spectacles lack the gravitas of the original, that WOW factor. For one thing, Russell Crowe had so much more screen presence than Mescal, he made even the cheesiest dialog seem classy. Even with Denzel around, overall this sequel is just not as memorable for me. I doubt I’ll be rewatching this one anytime soon, while I’ve rewatched Gladiator over a dozen times!
I’m a fan of the first film now, it grew on me but I didn’t like it when I first saw it in the theater.
As for this sequel, it’s shockingly bad! I couldn’t believe how awful this film was considering the talents and production budget. It’s so badly written, edited and directed that I thought it’s made by an amateur filmmaker and not a seasoned talent like Ridley Scott. I was shocked! I think your review is too kind, I would’ve ripped this movie to shred had I reviewed it. 0.5 out 5 for me. Lol!
As great as Denzel is, his role was awfully written and he didn’t look like he knew what he’s doing with that character. Not his fault since the script is terrible. I say it again, I can’t believe how terrible this film was!
Y’know what Ted, after posting this review and thinking about it days later, I feel like I was being too generous as well! Yeah the script is absolutely terrible, as there’s nothing memorable, I never really cared much for Mescal, and now I’m just confused about all the hype surrounding him. Yeah, Macrius is a silly character the more I think about it… perhaps Denzel took the role out of respect for Ridley after American Gangster? I couldn’t help but think how ridiculous the finale was. It made zero sense for Macrius to go after his own gladiator instead of sending some of his guys to take on Lucius. I mean there is no way he’d manage to win unless he subdues him first like Commodus did with Maximus. Even then he still couldn’t beat him!
Yeah I think Denzel signed for this role because he and Scott got along well when they made American Gangster and I assume both of then wanted to work together again. His character turned into Alonzo from Training Day was so ridiculous. I wonder if the script was changed last minute to make him the main antagonist so there’s someone to face off against Lucius in the finale. But that character turned into the main villain didn’t make a lick of sense and the finale fight was ridiculous!
Ahah, I haven’t seen Training Day but yeah, I can see the comparison. I guess he likes playing gangster character for Ridley Scott, I thought he was terrifying in American Gangster, but Macrius is more goofy than scary 😀
Pingback: The Minnesota Movie Digest: Issue No. 115 – The Minnesota Film Critics Association
I love this review Ruth. It’s obvious you are reviewing a fave genre.
Laughed out loud at “sequelitis”. I pretty much hate it when “sequelitis” strikes a fave film.
I’m not going to rush to see this, if I ever watch at all. It sounds lacklustre in spite of advanced tech.
Still, this is one heck of a great review. Maybe it should be the movie, instead of the movie? 🤭
Thank you!
Awww thanks Resa, for your encouragement!! I never know if people actually find my long reviews entertaining or annoying, ahah.
Yeah, Hollywood’s sequelitis doesn’t seem to have any cure on the horizon [sigh] As much as I enjoy this genre, it pains me to say this is so mediocre and even laughable. It’s too bad as the first film is SO good and I still quote that movie all the time. Russell Crowe is such an excellent actor!
It’s not the length of the review, it’s the substance, and the delivery.
You say “so mediocre and even laughable” in the review in a way that it made me chuckle, especially juxtaposed against the first one.
So, besides “Gladiator” what are a couple of your fave Crowe films?
Thank you!!! I try to kind of entertain myself when writing movies that are disappointing, mwahaha! I mean, seeing the sharks in the Colosseum just made me roll my eyes, I guess it’s worth a watch if you approach it as a comedy 😀
Ohhh there are sooo many good Russell Crowe films, but the MUST-SEE ones are The Insider (a legal drama with Al Pacino), A Beautiful Mind, Master & Commander, 3:10 To Yuma (a Western with Christian Bale) and The Nice Guys if you’re in the mood for buddy cop comedy.
Well, you were most entertaining in this review.
Yay! I get “The Insider” on Disney+. Love legal dramas. I’ll be watching t hat tonight. Thank you!
I’ll check for “A Beautiful Mind”. I believe I have not seen that.
Hello Resa!! I just replied to your email, you are simply FABULOUS!! 🤩
I love The Insider and I really think Crowe should’ve won for his role there. It also has your fave Christopher Plummer as famous reporter Mike Wallace, he’s also phenomenal in it.
I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on The Insider and A Beautiful Mind once you get to see those!
Yayay!
I replied to your mail!
Will let you know my thoughts. 🕊🤍❦
You are such a doll!! LOVE your latest Painted House post btw, I’d want that colorful bird on the side of my house too!
Pingback: FlixChatter Review: WICKED Part I (2024) – Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande are wicked good in Jon M. Chu’s vivid, dazzling, and surprisingly heartfelt movie musical – FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG
Pingback: FlixChatter Review: The Piano Lesson (2024) – Malcolm Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s play is intense and spine-chilling, with a scene-stealing performance by Danielle Deadwyler – FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG
Pingback: FlixChatter’s NOVEMBER viewing recap + Mini Reviews + Movie of the Month – FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG
Pingback: FlixChatter Review: NICKEL BOYS (2024) – A unique approach to evocative storytelling that packs an emotional wallop – FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG
Pingback: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) – The 5th live action adaptation of Marvel’s First Family still doesn’t live up to its name – FLIXCHATTER FILM BLOG