EAT • SLEEP • REVIEW • REPEAT
GLADIATOR II
You will be somewhat entertained.
The concept of the legacy sequel - or lega-sequel if you will - isn’t a particularly new one. Studios have been returning to the well of long-gone-but-well-loved franchises for many years now, yet the idea has been all the rage of late.
Bringing old film franchises back from the dead has become something of a Hollywood hobby over the past few years, as the alluring combination of built-in nostalgia and the promise of a fresh start for a long-dormant IP is just too much to resist for studios always desperate for the next big hit.
This year alone has seen the release of two such lega-sequels – Twisters and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice – both of whom were big box office hits and together suggest that this obsession with the most blatant of nostalgia plays isn’t going anywhere any time soon.
Which brings us neatly to the biggest, brashest, and frequently the most baffling lega-sequel of them all - Gladiator II.
Years after witnessing the death of his father Maximus (Russell Crowe) at the hands of his uncle (Joaquin Phoenix), Lucius (Paul Mescal) must enter the Colosseum after the power-hungry twin emperors of Rome conquer his home. With rage in his heart and the future of the empire at stake, he must look to the past to find the strength and honour needed to return the glory of Rome to its people.
So here we are then, 24 years on from Maximus getting his revenge on Emperor Commodus, with a long talked about sequel that few thought would ever see the light of day. But, of course, by this point, Russell Crowe’s Maximus is long-since dead and his quest for vengeance long-since complete, so what on Earth do we actually need a Gladiator II for? Good question.
Evaluated entirely on its own merits, Gladiator II has a lot going for it as an immensely enjoyable swords and sandals epic. However, the problem is that, as much as you may want to avoid it, this is not a film you can judge in silo.
With admirably grand action and satisfyingly tactile fight sequences aplenty, this is a sequel that gives you plenty of what you want, yet not a whole lot of what you need. It is also, inevitably, a sequel that has the weight of one of the most beloved blockbusters of all time on its shoulders – and, quite frankly, it shows.
With big, brash connections and call-backs to the original film applied liberally throughout, it’s almost impossible to talk about Gladiator II without evoking the name of its predecessor and judged as such, something feels off. As enjoyable and as entertaining as it is, this is a film that lacks the focus, poise, and ferocity of Gladiator, one that takes plenty of key elements from Ridley Scott’s original, proceeds to blow them all up, yet does little with the pieces.
As we gain a grander sense of the Roman Empire teetering on the brink, the move to broaden the scope and open up the world makes a whole lot of sense; however, with a lost focus and a desire to be bigger and bolder than what went before, the story being told suffers somewhat because of it. Trying desperately to keep its multiple plates spinning, David Scarpa’s script never feels comfortable with what it’s trying to do, leaving Paul Mescal’s central plot floundering somewhere in the middle of it all.
Feeling like a carbon copy of Gladiator’s original plot, Lucius’ quest for gladiatorial revenge has potential to offer something new and interesting, yet ultimately appears happy to go over old ground, as his story never truly feels like the focus it should be. It’s a central plot that attempts at every turn to tether itself to the first film, brazenly inviting comparisons as it goes, yet never truly offers anything substantial to back itself up.
Clumsy and muddled, Gladiator II’s script leans far too heavily in on forced and confusing connections to the first film, a move that only works to dilute the overall story and place itself, unflatteringly, right next to the original. Whether this is a sequel that would’ve benefitted from being completely unconnected to the first film is up for debate, however, what’s undeniable is that the connections here are just too aggressive and too jarring to truly work, as it struggles to get moving under the immense legacy weighing it down.
For his part, Paul Mescal does a very decent job of pulling everything together. Of course, he’s not Russell Crowe and he clearly knows this, choosing instead to take a far more low-key approach to the lead role, one that does sometimes struggle with the film’s bigger moments. With real poise and a quiet power, Mescal steps up and steps into Crowe’s rather large sandals with ease, putting his own stamp on a role that will surely be the start of bigger and better things for him in the future.
Despite Mescal’s focal role, however, it’s fair to say that he (and the rest of the film, in all honesty) is overpowered and overshadowed by a Denzel Washington performance for the ages. All flowing robes, powerful monologues, hoop earrings, and a truly transcendent aura, Denzel does what Denzel does best as he delivers a level of greatness that blows absolutely everyone around him out of the water.
It’s a domineering performance that manages to both lift Gladiator II to a different level and one that can’t help but overshadow everything and everyone around him. Whether it’s Pedro Pascal’s General Marcus Acacius, the return of Connie Nielsen, or Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger’s megalomaniacal twin emperors, no one in the cast comes close to touching Denzel, and the film, as a whole, suffers because of it.
Despite this, Denzel’s performance is everything you want from a film like this, going as far as to carry the film for extended periods, while making it more entertaining as a whole. As if attempting to match Denzel’s outrageous performance, Ridley Scott dials everything up around him, taking many elements that were so successful in the first film and turning them up to eleven.
Some of it works (the ballsy scale and sheer viciousness of the fight scenes), some of it doesn’t (the less said about the weird CGI alien monkeys the better), and some of it is just plain ridiculous (Colosseum sharks anyone?), yet it’s all never less than entertaining throughout. In typical Ridley fashion, Gladiator II is a work of masterful pomposity that’s as liberal with its approach to historical accuracy as its director’s other efforts, and while it’s undoubtedly plagued with the kind of issues that tend to arise with Ridley Scott’s period work, sometimes you just have to sit back and embrace the grandiose silliness of it all.
Judged on its own merits, Gladiator II is an immensely enjoyable swords and sandals epic that delivers brutal, grand action in droves. Judged on its predecessor, however, it comes up somewhat short. The drive and focus of the first film are replaced with a bloated plot and clumsy writing that struggle to connect themselves to the original, however, with Denzel delivering typically Denzel greatness to elevate everything, this is a lega-sequel that earns itself a solid thumbs up.
