Gladiator II Review

Gladiator II joins the likes of Twisters, Alien: Romulus, and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice as a long-awaited sequel to a popular film. Gladiator II sees a new character forced into the Colosseum and potentially becomes a catalyst for change.

Sixteen years after the events of Gladiator, the Roman Empire is ruled by the tyrannical twin emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). The last place of resistance is in the province of Numidia, North Africa. After the Romans launch an assault on a rebel city, Hanno (Paul Mescal) is captured and sold to be a gladiator. His new master, Macrinus (Denzel Washington) offers Hanno a chance for revenge against the high-ranking general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), just as political tensions increase in the Eternal City.

Gladiator is arguably one of Ridley Scott’s best films. It was a big-budget film that won five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor and earned Ridley Scott one of his three Best Director nominations. Along with Braveheart, Gladiator led a wave of big-budget historical epics like The Last Samurai, Kingdom of Heaven, and Troy. Despite the minor issue of Maximus Decimus Meridian dying at the end of Gladiator, there have long been talks of a possible sequel. Nick Cave penned a barmy idea where Maximus got resurrected by the dying Roman gods and became involved in a Christian rebellion against the Roman Empire.

In the end, Gladiator II went for a more traditional revenge story. Gladiator II did seem like it was mirroring its predecessor: the sequel opened with a big battle, the main character was sold into slavery to become a gladiator and they fought fights in provinces before going to Rome. There was a dual narrative of Hanno needing to survive in the arena as political intrigues at the heart of power.

Gladiator II did have some of the same issues that affect other legacy sequels and sequels in general. Gladiator II had to do a massive retcon. Hanno was really Lucius Verus, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), it’s revealed Lucius’ real father was Maximus and Lucius had to take up Maximus’ mantle. Gladiator II has some Member Berry moments by repeating famous lines of dialogue from the first film, although nowhere need as bad Alien: Romulus reusing ‘getting away from her you bitch.’

Gladiator II went for a bigger is better approach. The first film was a gritty affair, the world was lived in and it brought bloody violence to the swords-and-sandals genre. The opening battle scene in Gladiator was one of the best put to screen. The opening battle in Gladiator II was entertaining, but it felt more like a battle in Rome II: Total War mixing land, navel, and siege warfare. The gladiatorial contests in the film included a fight with CGI baboons, a legendary gladiator riding a rhinoceros, and a recreation of a naval battle in the Colosseum, which felt like it was lifted from Nick Cave’s script. Fortunately, Ridley Scott has proven himself as an accomplished action director, and for anyone looking for a fix of swordplay and archery action could do a lot worse.

Gladiator II has been criticised for its historical accuracy but I am a bit more forgiving. It’s a sequel to a story that was already historical fiction, it wasn’t pretending to be accurate, nor it did suffer from its director making asinine comments about historians not really knowing what happened in the past, like what happened with his Napoleon biopic. Gladiator II does benefit from public ignorance about Roman history since most people only have a broad knowledge of the Roman Empire.

There was a sense of opulence and grandeur in the film. The emperors lived a life of hedonism, whilst the ordinary citizens of Rome were struggling because of the elites’ excess and constant wars. When Hanno arrived in Rome it bore a similarity to Apocalypto since the city was suffering from plague and poverty. Rome was a powder keg that was ready to go off.

Gladiator II does make some changes to avoid being a complete copy of its predecessor. There was an emphasis on political drama and Gladiator II did feel a lot like Game of Thrones as different individuals were vying for power. There were some complex character dynamics, especially between Hanno and Acacius. Hanno wanted revenge but was unaware that Acacius was an ally trying to help his stepson. Macrinus was the Balish of the story since he was a shrewd operator who knew the right people to befriend and climbed the ladder of chaos and Washington was fantastic at portraying this character. It was hard for Gladiator II to falter with its acting considering the amount of talent involved.

Gladiator II was an unnecessary sequel but it still provided entertainment value. They were solid action scenes for fans of historical epics and political intrigue gives Gladiator II some substance.