Gladiator II review

 

I just saw Gladiator II, and here are my thoughts…

A soldier becomes a Gladiator to seek revenge against a Roman general, while the very power of Rome hangs in the balance.

So I really like the first Gladiator, it’s really special, well made, and was one of my favorites growing up. So when I heard they were making a sequel, my first thought was… why? I mean “spoilers for a 24-year-old movie” when your main character dies at the end after defeating the bad guy, that kind of negates the need for a sequel. So I went in with very low expectations, and I can safely say it was better than I thought it would be, it didn’t blow me away, but to paraphrase Maximus… I was entertained lol

I was impressed by the lead actor Paul Mescal, I know he’s popular for his work in some indie films, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen him. He has real talent, charm, and leading man material. Now his character is a bit predictable, he loses a loved one at the beginning of the film, so you get all the big hits of the character, seeking revenge… moody, brooding, vengeful, yelling “noooooooo”… all the classics. The actor performs them well and they work for the story. So like good leftovers, you know exactly what you’re gonna get, but you enjoy it.

Pedro Pascal’s character was interesting, he’s the one the gladiator is seeking revenge against so I was thinking he’d be like a dick you’d be rooting for to get his ass kicked, but he was actually pretty sympathetic and kind of a nice guy, definitely added good drama to him and the main characters dynamic. You don’t think he deserves to die, but you know the gladiator is coming for him.

Denzel Washington’s character is very complex, I don’t want to say much because part of the fun is discovering what’s going on with him, but as always, Denzel brings a lot of charm, charisma, and pathos to the role.

Joseph Quinn & Fred Hechinger are good at playing creepy almost incestuous brother co-emperors. Quinn reminded me of Malachi from Children of the Corn in his weird aloof religious fever, while Hechinger reminded me of Patrick Starr and his intelligence… I got some good laughs out of him.

Connie Nielsen returns from the first one… She’s a great actress and does a fantastic job, you get to see a lot of the interweaving Roman politics through her, and that stuff is interesting.

My favorite character in the movie is Ravi, the Colosseum Doctor, the actor brings a lot of charm and subtle humor, and the character is really likable and funny.

But the main attraction of this film is the action scenes, it is incredible how Ridley Scott can stage these action scenes to not only feel realistic but gave you some cool spectacle… and boy does it get bloody and harsh, like they’re definitely gonna be some deaths you’re gonna go like “damn that was rough”

There’s a lot of plot in this, with revenge and politics, intriguing backstabbing, and hopes for democracy… the story is like a winding road you’re gonna get to where you’re going, but it’s gonna be bumpy along the way and your head might spin a few times lol

This is going to sound contradictory, but while I thought the movie was too long and could’ve been shortened, I feel like they left some stuff out that could’ve enhanced the story. for example, there are a few parts where the main character has jumps in his character and motivations, and you’ll be sitting there, thinking… Well, that was sudden and kind of out of nowhere. I bet you there is a Director cut somewhere out there that has a bunch of these scenes, you can kind of tell by the editing. Would this overall help the movie, hard to say, but I would be interested in seeing them.

Small nitpick: We don’t see the Gladiator with his loved ones before they die, so when they inevitably kick the bucket, you don’t feel as much weight of him losing them. Since most of the plot hangs on him wanting revenge, we would’ve felt that way more if we, too, had felt the loss of that character.

Also, I’ve been to the Colosseum, and while I didn’t really go inside… I don’t think it was fortified to be a water tank. There’s a whole scene with boats and sharks, and while it looked cool… it was very historically inaccurate, but this isn’t the most historically accurate series so it can pass.

I will say the costumes were really cool. They really outdid themselves with not only the number of them but also with making them cool and accurate to the time. I hope the costume department gets an Oscar nomination.

I would describe this movie as a crowd-pleaser. It may rehash ideas and have some issues here and there, but overall you can tell a lot of care was put into the filmmaking and you’ll have a good time watching it… I give it somewhere between a low four stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and a high three stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️