Gladiator II
Ridley Scott’s belated sequel to his 2000 masterpiece may not quite match the heights of the original, but it’s far better than I was expecting. With epic action sequences and an impressive all-star cast, Gladiator II delivers all the excitement audiences were expecting, as well as several plot developments that you may not have been.
Premise: Sixteen years after the events of the first film, General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) leads the Roman conquest of North Africa in the names of the corrupt Co-Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). After his home is invaded, Hanno (Paul Mescal) is enslaved by the Romans and bought by Macrinus (Denzel Washington), where he agrees to join Macrinus’ stable of gladiators in order to take his revenge against Acacius.
Review:
When the trailer for Gladiator II first dropped, I (like many others) feared that it gave too much of the plot away. But now that I’ve seen the finished film, it appears that the marketing may have been deliberately giving audiences an overly-simplistic impression of the movie in order to keep some of its surprises up its sleeves.
From the trailer, you may have been forgiven for thinking that Paul Mescal’s storyline would simply be a carbon-copy of Maximus’ from the first film, or that Pedro Pascal’s antagonist would be a straightforward replacement for Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus, or that Denzel Washington’s character would fulfil the Oliver Reed role from the original film. But thankfully, the truth is more complicated than that, with each new character having a story-arc that is uniquely their own and not a rehash of what’s come before.
“…Paul Mescal’s performance is not as showy as Russell Crowe’s, but it’s no less good…”
That said, it is a little odd that one piece of casting news was publicised so heavily in the marketing of this film, given that the information in question (regarding Paul Mescal’s backstory) is not revealed until the second half of the movie. Chances are, you already know what I’m talking about – but if not, I won’t give anything more away here, as I think the film actually works better if you don’t know about that particular plot-thread before you see the film.
What I can say is that although Paul Mescal’s performance is not as showy as Russell Crowe’s in Gladiator, it’s no less good – it’s just that his character is a far more withdrawn and internalised character than Russell Crowe’s inspirational general. Equally, I want to give credit to Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger for bringing Co-Emperors Geta and Caracalla to life in such a way that not only feels very distinct from Commodus, but which also makes both of their characters distinct from each other. Fred Hechinger’s Caracalla in particular has some standout moments, and delivers the funniest line in the movie.
“…Denzel Washington’ performance has layers upon layers of complexity…”
Then there’s Denzel Washington – and perhaps I should have known better than to assume that Denzel would just be appearing in an extended cameo (in the same way Oliver Reed did in the original film). His portrayal of Macrinus has layers upon layers of complexity – and perhaps we should have expected no less from one of the greatest actors of his generation. It was also wonderful to see Connie Nielsen return as Lucilla, in a role that is arguably just as important to the plot here as it was in the first movie, if not more so.
I’m not a historian, but I understand that (like with the first Gladiator) many of the characters and the broad plot concepts are inspired by real figures and events, which all helps to ground the movie (unlike the previously considered afterlife-based plot for a potential sequel starring Russell Crowe would have done). This isn’t a historical epic per se, but the sprinkling of real history does give the film a sense of relevance that it might have lacked if it was an entirely fictional storyline.
“…packed full of action sequences unlike anything that you’re likely to have seen before…”
One area where the film certainly delivers in is the action sequences, in which director Ridley Scott shows no sign of slowing down now that he’s in his mid-80s. Whether it’s the visceral invasion of North Africa, the naval battle recreations in the Colosseum, or a gladiators-versus-rhino face-off, Gladiator II is packed full of action sequences unlike anything that you’re likely to have seen before. Only once (with some CGI baboons) do the VFX not quite live up to the standards of photo-realism.
Overall, it was probably asking too much for Gladiator II to match the heights of its predecessor – but importantly, it is a worthy sequel that genuinely adds something to the overall narrative (despite needing a little bit of ret-conning of the first film along the way). If you just want spectacular action, Gladiator II delivers that in spades – but for me, the most welcome surprise was the interesting plot developments which elevated the material and gave the film a real reason to exist. After the disappointing and disjointed Napoleon, this was a welcome return to form for Ridley Scott.
