The Gods Have Spoken.
Review written by Jack Aling
Gladiator II is directed by Ridley Scott and written by David Scarpa, Peter Craig & David Scarpa. Starring Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal & Connie Nielsen.
Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Released in 2000, the original Gladiator became an instant classic. Full of memorable lines, incredible performances and iconic sequences. Fast forward almost 25 years and legacy sequels are a dime a dozen. Many don't reach the heights of their predecessors, some don't even try. But Gladiator II does as much as possible to stand tall and make itself known.
Ridley Scott is back in the director's chair and strong legacy performers like Connie Nielsen return. New voices in Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn bring new energy to the series and even legends of the screen like Denzel Washington join the story. Gladiator II does not do things by halves.
Gladiator II delivers strength and honour in a bloodthirsty follow-up to a classic. Mescal gruffly leads this instalment, which will no doubt catapult him into the Hollywood stratosphere, with a performance fuelled by brutal revenge compared to Maximus' more analytical approach. This time it is the job of Washington's Macrinus, a former slave who uses gladiatorial chess pieces in his plot to control Rome. His scheming not only lands him the most interesting role in the film but by far the stand-out performance.
As we return to the arena, there are some grandiose sequences though they lose their charm with an overreliance on visual effects and quick editing that ends up hiding so much of the scale and spectacle. The large scale battle sequences feel dampened though fortunately, this is not the case for the more character-driven one-to-one moments.
There are some unsubtle callbacks to the 2000 original throughout which end up holding it back. This stops it from creating its own iconic moments, constantly referring back to quotes or moments that made Gladiator so celebrated instead of forging its own.
Ridley Scott proves that he can still deliver exceptional moments that make the most of the big screen experience, but Gladiator II is far from the epic it wants to be. A familiar modern blockbuster that is saved by an exceptional ensemble cast that elevates it into a compelling showstopper.
Yes, I was entertained.
Our verdict: 4 out of 5 stars.
Gladiator II arrives in UK CInemas November 14th 2024.
Read more of Jack's reviews at: letterboxd.com/TheJackAling
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