PHOENIX (AZFamille) — You can’t keep a good gladiator down.

Synopsis

Taking place 15 years after the original film, Gladiator II tells the story of Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal), the former heir to the Roman Empire whose wife is murdered during an invasion by the Roman army. After being captured as a slave, Lucius swears revenge on the general Marcus Acacius (Pierre Pascal).

Inspired by the story Maximus Commodus, Lucius participates in gladiator fights in order to get close enough to Marcus to be able to kill him. He is supervised by Macrinus, a former slave and now owner of gladiators (Denzel Washington), which has its own objective: to take back the ruined Roman Empire.

My thoughts

Did you know that one of the potential scenarios proposed Gladiator II did it involve the resurrection of Russell Crowe’s Maximus, then he’s cursed to be immortal and fight in wars like Vietnam and ends up working at the Pentagon? Fortunately, none of this happens in the Gladiator II I just watched.

Instead, we get a much more traditional and logical sequel, set 15 years after the original story, with Maximus happily left in the afterlife. We now focus on Lucius, the boy from the original film who has grown up and is on his own quest for revenge. While it may seem like the exact same story, there’s enough difference here while still giving audiences the gladiator action they’ve come to expect.

Are you still not amused?!

It’s been over two decades since the original Gladiatorand with time, more money, and advances in film technology, this late and expensive follow-up should be more epic than the first film. For example, the director Ridley Scott originally wanted a rhino battle but couldn’t do it at the time due to financial constraints.

Well, Scott has fully realized his ambitions here. Him and the writers David Scarpa And Pierre Craig I threw everything into the mix except the kitchen sink, which makes sense since the kitchen sink wasn’t invented until the 1800s. We have vicious baboons, the aforementioned rhinos and even sharks eating gladiators as they re-enact a naval battle in a flooded coliseum.

As in Scott’s last film, Napoleonhistorians have once again taken umbrage at the way he seems to treat historical facts casually. For example, the Romans flooded the coliseums to reenact naval battles, but did they actually incorporate sharks? It seems not, but you know what? I don’t care, because gladiators fighting sharks in a Colosseum is the coolest thing ever.

At least on a conceptual level because I was unfortunately a little disappointed by this sequence. There’s not a lot of preparation, and when the scene really starts, it’s suddenly over. A few guys get eaten up by sharks, but that’s it. The same goes for all the other gladiator fight scenes. Although they are more epic and larger in scope than the first, this time they do not have the same chaotic intensity and courage.

Economic baboons

Official figures have not yet been released, but Gladiator II has an estimated budget of between $250 million and $310 million (seriously, these Hollywood budgets are ridiculous). Most of the time you can see all that money on the screen. The production design, sets, costumes and props are all beautifully detailed, evoking that classic film feel that the original captured so well. The lighting is magnificent and many of the grandiose shots feature hundreds of extras.

On the less tangible side of things, some of the visual effects here are quite poor, particularly in the first Colosseum battle involving baboons. They looked more like the werewolf from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban than any type of baboon that exists in real life. Maybe it’s because they’re just horribly animated CG creatures that have no place in such an expensive movie.

I don’t expect filmmakers to use real animals for these scenes, but when films like Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes create some of the most breathtaking digital monkeys you’ve ever seen, there’s simply no excuse. The sharks and rhinoceroses are a little more beautiful but nevertheless stand out with slight imperfections compared to the practical elements around them.

Like every other blockbuster these days, the end credits seem longer than the film itself, showing a wall of names and the various visual effects they’re working for. Perhaps if there had been a more singular vision, directorial oversight, and fewer cooks in the house kitchen, the CGI could have looked much better to complement the film rather than detract from it.

When in Rome

Although the gladiator action left a lot to be desired, I found the story and plot to be quite engaging, especially since it had more depth than the first film. This one is just a pretty standard revenge story, but this episode has a lot more political intrigue and complex intrigue. The general premise of Revenge is much the same, but Scott and Scarpa wisely take a different route, resulting in a much larger narrative.

Very few actors have the same kind of commanding presence as Russell Crowe, but Scott Mescal does more than play the titular gladiator here. Lucius has a lot more to juggle in the character department, with a few twists and turns along the way that give him more depth than Maximus. You can really see this transformation in Mescal, going from bloody vengeance to something perhaps more noble.

Denzel Washington has the time of his life here, playing a devious schemer who doesn’t care who he has to hurt, kill or exploit to gain power. Denzel is one of the most charismatic actors of all time, so he was a perfect fit for an eccentric villain who has an incredibly dark side. His piercing eyes commanded every scene he was in, creating a menacing presence that permeated the entire story.

When it comes to being completely over the top, Joseph Quinn And Frank Hechinger operate here on an entirely different level as brother emperors Geta and Caracalla. With their constant screams and various facial contortions, they make these emperors feared not because of their power but because they are completely unbalanced. It was hilarious to discover that their characterization here was based on Beavis and Butt-Headwhich seems fitting since these two represent the downfall of Rome and society in general.

Compared to Joaquin Phoenix’s villain in the first film, who is just a whiny coward who you want to punch in the face, Quinn and Hechinger are terrifying because of their helplessness and disgust. Their pale, stained faces and stained, crooked teeth make them look like ghouls when surrounded by so much opulence. Both are the definition of decadent.

Final verdict

Gladiator II had a lot to live up to more than 24 years later, but any fans of the original should have fun here. Although the action of the gladiators and their add-on effects could have been improved, they are still a bit of fun and give you action sequences that you won’t find anywhere else. Ridley Scott certainly hasn’t lost his knack for making epic images.

It excels in story, characters and performances. It delves deeper into the historical side of things with a semi-fictionalized account of the fall of the Roman Empire. In 2024, it’s bold to ask an audience who just sat there for 2.5 hours if they were entertained, but you know what? I definitely was.

My rating: 7.5/10

Gladiator II will be released in theaters nationwide on Friday, November 22.

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