If you expect a near masterpiece like the first "Gladiator" [2000] movie, you'll probably be disappointed. If you expect a popcorn fest of gladiator fights and a bit of light drama, you'll probably think it is fine. I didn't expect too much and I pretty much got what I came for.
Gladiator 2 may be a bit too long of course, running for almost 2½ hours, but it is never boring and the pacing is fine. The gladiator scenes are pretty crazy. We are being entertained by killer baboons out of Hell, a killer rhino, a sea battle in a flooded Colosseum featuring killer sharks. Add a lot of more traditional sword fights to that. It is quite the spectacle of strength and honor. There is a bit too much shaky-cam for my taste, but it doesn't ruin the fun too much. The movie is R-rated and there is plenty of blood. Limbs and heads are flying around.
Storywise it's about Hanno, who is enslaved by the Roman Army and then sent to Rome to fight as a gladiator. It turns out that Hanno is in fact Lucius [Paul Mescal] from the first movie, who has lived in exile to escape certain death. This time around, we get not only one, but twin Emperors, who are obviously as insane as you'd expect them to be.
Lucius's mother Lucilla [Connie Nielsen] is still alive in Rome, and it turns out that Hanno/Lucius was enslaved by no other than Lucilla's new husband, General Marcus Acacius [Pedro Pascal]. It simply must end bad, eh? Add to the mix an ambitious owner of gladiators, Macrinus [Denzel Washington], who dreams of becoming Emperor instead of the Emperors.
While it all guarantees a lot of drama, it's not very complicated or deep. The first Gladiator movie had a much deeper emotional layer, and you actually felt for the characters. This time it's just plain entertainment. It is hard to become very invested in any of the characters, whether they are very evil or very heroic.
I don't think we'll ever see the perfect Gladiator / Roman Empire / Emperor movie. It would require some über-crazy mix of "Caligula" [1979], "Gladiator" [2000], HBO's "Rome" [2005-2007] and a pinch of "Braveheart" [1995] for its awesome non-shaky camerawork during the fight scenes. It would require a deep emotional layer combined with blood and gore and incest and hardcore porn and insane emperors and intrigues and betrayal and drama and intense gladiator fights. Nope, I don't think we'll ever see all that in just one movie.
This Gladiator sequel was strictly never very necessary. The first movie works very well as a stand-alone movie. On the other hand you got to give it to the sequel, that we are being entertained. It looks really great on the big screen, and I'm pretty sure I'll buy the 4K Blu-ray later on, and enjoy it all again in Dolby Vision at home.
Rating: 
Movie Title: Gladiator II
Director: Ridley Scott
This Release: 2024
RunTime: 148
Actors: Connie Nielsen, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, Derek Jacobi, Fred Hechinger, Rory McCann, Tim McInnerny
Movie Format: Cinema
Content Type: Movie Review
Language: 
Updated: 2024-11-14 19:41
Created: 2024-11-14 18:37
