For decades, Ridley Scott, the visionary and talented man behind films such as Alien, Blade Runner, and much more, has been trying to get a sequel to his critically acclaimed Gladiator off the ground. There have been several reasons as to why a sequel has taken many years to come to fruition, such as creative differences over what the story should consist of, a focus on Maximus’ son, or a story that delves into the fantastical side of the afterlife with Maximus. It didn’t help that Dreamworks Pictures were struggling financially during the 2000s, which led to them selling the rights to their live action library, pre-2006, to Paramount Pictures, which included the rights to Gladiator. After a long twenty-four years, Paramount Pictures and Ridley Scott have delivered on the long-awaited sequel, Gladiator 2, and it’s much more than just entertaining.
Gladiator 2 is set decades after Gladiator (2000) and follows Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal), the son of Lucila (Connie Nielsen) and Maximus. After a Roman invasion and the death of his wife, Lucius is forced into a life of slavery. Similarly to Maximus, Lucius resolves to fight as a Gladiator in the Colosseum, under the teachings of Macrinius (Denzel Washington), a former slave who’s currently plotting to overthrow the young emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn), in hopes of controlling Rome.
Gladiator 2’s opening shot of Lucius walking through the fields in Numidia mirrors the opening shot of the original Gladiator, where Maximus was also walking through the fields. As identical as these scenes are with their same framing, the only slight difference is that Lucius is not dreaming of this. He’s physically there with his loving wife, but to bring their intimate moment to an abrupt end is the oncoming news of an invasion by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), leaving both Lucius and his wife to fend for their land, but unfortunately this costs the life of Lucius’ wife, leaving him with the same fate as his father, a slave and forced to fight in the arena. It’s poetic how this story of Lucius and his heritage flows throughout the story and how it calls back to the first film.
Gladiator 2 is breathtaking, and audiences will have to see it for themselves to believe it. With how grand of a film the first one was for a 2000 film, you’d expect the sequel to go above and beyond, but Ridley Scott takes this film to places that leave you shocked and in awe with how they were able to pull it off. The set pieces are phenomenal, ranging from the invasion of Numidia to the Colosseum flooded with water for one of its games/battles. Ridley Scott never got the chance to use a rhino in battle for his first film, but now with a bigger budget, he’s managed to pull it off, and it makes for an action sequence that has you wanting to cheer with the crowd.
With all the action that takes place within Gladiator 2, there’s still a strong emotional core at its centre, and while it doesn’t reach the same heights as the original film, this story is still one that’s worth running to the IMAX to go see. We don’t see the return of David Franzoni, John Logan, and William Nicholson, who handled the story and script for that first film beautifully. Luckily, Peter Craig and David Scarpa, who already have a talent for writing stories that are so expansive with their worlds, are attached to Gladiator 2, and they prove themselves more than worthy to handle such a story.
Gladiator 2’s story is more captivating than the original, and it’s all thanks to the mastermind, the master manipulator Macrinius, and the strings that he pulls to slowly climb the hierarchy and control the two emperors, who are a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. It’s always a plus to have a great story and a screenwriter who pieces it together, but what helps set it all in stone is its performers, and Gladiator 2 lacks a single bad performance.
It’s not hard to have a favourite amongst the characters and performances, but it is difficult to pinpoint a performance that brought the film down or was noticeable. Ridley Scott is a director who can ensure his cast gives it their all once he says action; even the likes of Matt Lucas (Wonka), who you wouldn’t expect in a film like this, is laughably enjoyable to watch any time he’s on screen.
Paul Mescal (Foe), Pedro Pascal (The Wild Robot), and Denzel Washington (The Equalizer 3) are a tour de force that aren’t to be reckoned with in Gladiator 2. There was some worry that with Paul Mescal deriving from indie films, he wouldn’t be best suited for a large-scale blockbuster such as this, but he makes it look like this is his tenth blockbuster, showing the range that he has within his acting and that he’s fit to lead an army. Pedro Pascal, while unfortunately doesn’t have as much screen time as Mescal, still gives it his all, making this one of his best performances yet.
The scene stealer and the overall best performance in the film without a doubt come from the legendary Denzel Washington, who feels like he isn’t only taking directions or reading from a script but is adding his own flair to Macrinius and providing this electric energy that no other actor gives off in this film. It’s also topped off by Janty Yates (Napoleon), who also returns from Gladiator as the costume designer, who made sure to give Macrinius all the colour and style that was available to offer, but aside from him, the costumes used in the film are all stunning.
The mind-blowing performances don’t stop there; Connie Nielsen (Role Play) returns as Lucilla and feels like she never left, but it’s Joseph Quinn (A Quiet Place: Day One) and Fred Hechinger (Thelma) who deliver career-defining performances that provide the chaotic nature that’s needed for their characters. I only ever wanted more of them anytime they were on my screen.
While it’s hard to find flaws in this film as it was handled with such care and delicacy, there are a few road bumps along the way when it comes to the visuals. The visuals throughout 95% of the film are striking and shockingly impressive for how much can be going on during one scene but with Industrial Light and Magic behind the wheels for Gladiator 2, it comes with no surprise that the visuals are just jaw-dropping. There are a few odd scenes towards the start of the film where the VFX on a monkey might not look like the greatest creation in the world, especially when there are so many of them in the one scene but with how scarily terrifying they look with their designs, it distracts from the one part of the movie that has slightly noticeable VFX errors.
John Mathieson (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness) returns as the cinematographer for Gladiator 2 and once again brings the city of Rome to life with his beautiful shots that can capture the hopelessness in the city but also showcase the bustling Colosseum with these wide shots that encapsulate how grand the film is in scale. Mathieson’s best work from Gladiator 2 comes from the scenes where Lucius is dreaming that he’s in the afterlife, watching his wife be taken away after she has been killed. It’s a very haunting scene that’s devoid of any sound; that design, mixed with the monochrome look and score that Harry Gregson-Williams (Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget) composes, just makes it one of the best scenes in the film that will easily get overlooked in comparison with everything else that there is to offer.
It goes without saying that Gladiator 2 is the must-see movie of the year, and the only way to experience this beautifully crafted piece of art by Ridley Scott that’s packed with groundbreaking, career-defining performances, astonishing cinematography, eye-catching costumes, and a score that transports you to Rome is to watch it in IMAX or on the biggest screen possible with the best sound you can find. There have been early talks of a Gladiator 3, and with how this film concludes and how well it was made, if the same care is taken, we might possibly have one of the biggest films ever in our hands. Don’t walk to the cinema to watch Gladiator 2, run! You won’t regret it, and you’ll 100% be entertained!
Gladiator 2 releases in theaters on November 22.
