When I found out they were making Gladiator II, my first thought was why? The original Gladiator movie, released in 2000 and starring Russell Crowe, was such a nearly picture perfect film, checking all the key boxes, that it won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Actor, among others, that year.
So why mess with perfection? Why create a sequel for a standalone movie that needed no follow up? If I had my guess, I’d say it had something to do with the TikTok trend going around last year where women asked the men in their lives how often they thought about the Roman Empire. And the consensus was A LOT.
Admittedly, I probably didn’t think about the Roman Empire enough until I was fortunate enough to spend a week in Rome earlier this year. Not only was it such a definitive era in world history (human history, for that matter) but the Romans developed so many modern concepts that still live on today.
And if everyone is already thinking about the Roman Empire, why not make a movie about it? Or rather, why not make money off of it?
Now it’s not fair to say that Gladiator II is simply a cash grab. That would be an absolute disservice to the excellent writing and acting in this sequel. But for reasons I’ll get into below, you might want to lower your expectations just a bit before spending your hard-earned denarius aureus.
Gladiator II as a standalone movie
If you’ve never see the original Gladiator, or it’s been so long since you’ve seen it that you nearly forgot, you’ll probably thoroughly enjoy Gladiator II.
Stories like this bring Ancient Rome to life, complete with the gates to the city, the chariots, the Colosseum, the excesses, but also the class disparity and tyranny. And, of course, everything is spattered with a little blood and violence. That’s what most moviegoers are expecting.
The story follows a young man (Paul Mescal), clearly of European descent, fighting the Romans in North Africa as they work to expand the empire’s boundaries. Sfter a devastating loss, he’s taken prisoner to be used as a slave. As in the original movie, he’s given the path to rise from slave to gladiator to freedom.
But this man doesn’t want freedom. he wants revenge after the Roman Army slaughtered his people, including his wife. And the only thing that complicates his efforts is the revelation that he is, indeed, Lucius, the long lost son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). He is forced to choose between his own personal desire to pursue vengeance versus the need to save Rome from the insolent ways of co-Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger).
In the midst of this journey, we struggle to understand who Lucius should trust – his mother Lucilla? her husband, General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal)? slave owner and conspirator Macrinus (Denzel Washington)? In the end, it’s a fight against good and evil and a hero emerges, albeit it with a lot of gore and bloodshed.
It’s everything you might want in a good action movie. Top notch acting from everyone in the film with Paul Mescal as the standout. And it’s delicious watching Denzel Washington take a dark turn. On its own, I’d give this film an 8 out of 10.
But if we look at this movie through a different lens, my opinion changes.
Gladiator II as a sequel
Since it’s been 24 years since the original film Gladiator was released, there’s a strong chance that an entire generation of moviegoers have not seen this film. And maybe won’t. You can see Gladiator II without seeing the original movie but you won’t completely understand some of the character history which does add to the story.
It had actually been 24 years since I had seen Gladiator and my son, who often attends movie screenings with me, had never seen it. So we decided to screen it together just before we went to the theater.
Now I remember why this movie won Best Picture of the Year. The action, the acting, the settings, the characters, and above all else, the story. Russell Crowe painted a picture of Maximus as a loyal and just man, proud to serve the armies of Rome but eager to return to the simple joys of his farm and his family.
When all of that is ripped away from him, we feel his pain, his loss, his sense of despair, his desire for revenge. Crowe is a sympathetic character even as he bloodies his opponents. The end scene was actually so beautiful, I cried. And let me tell you, I don’t generally cry at movies. I was moved by it all.
As a result, expectations were high going into Gladiator II. There’s a lot about the story that isn’t really explained or explained to my satisfaction. We find that Lucius was sent away from his mother. We find that his father is not who he thought it was. And when things are revealed, it matters and then it doesn’t.
We find intensity in the characters but not in the depth. And that’s because of one thing: the story. The writing (in terms of the script) is good. It’s entertaining. The acting is well done. But the story is just meh. It feels recycled from the first movie, without any heart. We follow the progression of the hero but we don’t feel it’s a hero’s journey. At least I don’t.
Some of the characters feel more like caricatures and although this is historical fiction, this is certainly alternate history fiction. There are also elements that just don’t add up. The ascension to the Emperor’s throne wasn’t determined by bloodline yet most of the story is predicated on that fact. That was actually the WHOLE POINT of the first movie! Maximus was slated to be the next leader but Commodus (the son of Marcus Aurelius) felt the role was his by blood.
Although we see some of the original magic of the first film (Ridley Scott as director, Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, Derek Jacobi as Gracchus), the story is sloppy, even if you’re not a historian. It’s a visual delight, and entertaining 2 hours and 35 minutes, but as a follow up to the laurel that was Gladiator, Gladiator II is a solid 6/10.
Where to Watch Gladiator
If you’re looking to brush up on your cinematic history, JustWatch.com can show you where you can find Gladiator streaming right now.
