Gladiator II, 2024.
Directed by Ridley Scott.
Starring Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Derek Jacobi, May Calamawy, Lior Raz, Peter Mensah, Matt Lucas, Alexander Karim, Tim McInnerny, Lee Charles, Alfie Tempest, Riana Duce, Chi Lewis-Parry, Hadrian Howard, Rory McCann, Alec Utgoff, Yuval Gonen, Amira Ghazalla, Chris Hallaways, Tom Moutchi, and Dean Fagan.
SYNOPSIS:
After his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum and must look to his past to find strength to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Director Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II is more of the same (and nearly a beat-by-beat remake of the first film for roughly half of its 148-minute running time), which, on the surface, might not sound like a negative or a complaint considering this is the 24-years later follow-up to a Best Picture winner. It is a problem, though, since Ridley Scott (working alongside one returning screenwriter, David Scarpa) has mostly put together fanfiction storytelling that feels like one of those woefully misguided video game sequels to a beloved film (such as the Scarface game that was built up on the enticing concept of “what if Tony Montana survived the ending,” which disappointingly went nowhere intriguing.)
This is a film under the impression that it is a solid idea to tease the lineage of its protagonist, a Numidian soldier (Paul Mescal) who winds up enslaved into gladiatorial combat for financial and Roman hierarchy gain at the hands of former slave/arms dealer Macrinus (Denzel Washington devouring the scenery, mostly playing a cruel and exaggerated version of himself.) This happens after Roman general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal, delivers a fine performance and belongs here, although it is more amusing to pretend Ridley Scott was in such a hurry to get the project underway and finished that he was rhyming actor surnames when working out the cast) sacks Numida in his regretful but ordered quest to take out northern Africa.
Yes, 15 years after Russell Crowe’s Maximus seemingly vanquished tyranny upon murdering Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus, evil has once again risen under the rule of sadistically unhinged brothers Emperor Geta and Emperor Caracalla (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger, essentially playing variations of the same character at different volumes of mental instability.) Perhaps there is something to take from tyranny again taking control following a short burst of hope in the wake of a despairing recent US election, but that’s more of a happy accident regarding storytelling. Anyway, during the sacking of Numdia, that previously mentioned battle-hardened leader’s wife is, quite literally, caught in the crossfire and murdered by Marcus Acacius. The man doesn’t want to be an instrument of death and personal gain for Macrinus, but he is also operating on a contained rage and is willing to do so if it gets him a matchup against Marcus.
It’s also revealed early on that Marcus Acacius is romantically intertwined with Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla (daughter to Marcus Aurelius and brother to the deceased Commodus) is the mother of this soldier turned new gladiatorial tool, having sent him away to Numidia when he was a young boy as a form of protection. Anyone who has seen Gladiator probably knows the identity of this character. People who haven’t seen the first film can also probably connect the dots. However, this screenplay drags it out for an unforgivable amount of time, especially for something I’m reasonably sure is already revealed in the trailer.
In between, Gladiator II replays the hits in the ludicrous, borderline campy tone of House of Gucci Ridley Scott. That’s not to say the first film doesn’t have its fair share of inspired lunacy among a game ensemble, but here it comes across as parody inside a ridiculous movie that is no longer semi-grounded. In typical misguided blockbuster fashion, this sequel tries to one-up its predecessor in unnecessary, absurd ways. Instead of battling a tiger inside the Coliseum, there are now fights against monkeys or opponents inside a flooded arena surrounded by sharks.
It’s also a struggle to talk about the staging of these action sequences since they are hampered by distractingly awful CGI, as if the special effects team barely had time to work on them. Even the ones that aren’t slathered in CGI lack weight but are still mildly fun to watch. If anything, the most exciting is the opening full-scale battle in Numidia. Jarringly, the filmmakers also can’t decide if this is a bloodless affair or soaked in it and gore, with only select sequences having that violence ramped up. Unsurprisingly, the most involving of these gladiatorial battles is between two human characters in a complex, unpredictable, juicy predicament, taking advantage of raw emotions.
Lavish costumes, hard-hitting brutality, and go-for-broke performances aside, Gladiator II is surprisingly dull. In its effort to redo the first film and shoehorn in as many callbacks as possible, there is no genuine attempt to flesh these characters out. It comes down to a series of power plays from Macrinus, which are unquestionably sinister and acted out with deliciously twisted glee from Denzel Washington, but that’s well over halfway through the experience. The vengeance story also doesn’t click this time around. Meanwhile, Marcus Acacius comes across as an underused side character despite having the most compelling and conflicted arc as a Roman general tired of carrying out horrific conquests, preparing an insurgence.
It would also be unfair to say that Gladiator II isn’t impressively constructed, handsomely mounted, and action-packed, but it’s not as emotionally gripping and, more importantly, entertaining this time. The story feels thrown together and hard to take seriously or invest in, even if some of that wackiness is admirably imaginative. Those sharks are a nutty idea, but this film deserves to be fed to them and forgotten about.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at [email protected]