Gladiator II - Review

There’s the common practice, or at least it really used to be common, of taking what worked in the original, copying it, and pasting it under a number two for your sequel. That process has subsided in some ways, but Gladiator II certainly feels like one of the more prominent recent examples. It’s slightly tweaked in its presentation, but the themes, action and characters take everything you already loved about the first and delivering on more of it. 

Years after witnessing the death of Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) must enter the Colosseum after the powerful emperors of Rome conquer his home. With rage in his heart and the future of the empire at stake, he looks to the past to find the strength and honor needed to return the glory of Rome to its people.

In many ways, director Ridley Scott has taken moments from his Best Picture winning 2000 epic, and attempted to up the ante on the sequel. The opening sequence battle feels grander, the Colosseum games are more brutal and bloody, and the stakes at least attempt to be a little more widespread than before. There’s still the vengeance fueled rage propelling the main character, but it’s not as solely focused on one man, but rather the system as a whole. Though Maximus won so long before, the cycle of corruption and cruelness still threatens to topple the dream that is Rome. Strangely fitting for 2024, isn’t it?

Leading the charge this go around is Paul Mescal, a more than up and coming star in the making. While he lacks a little bit of the gravitas of his predecessor, he makes up for it with subtle looks and an oddly calm rage to him. It’s another role that will further rocket Mescal to star status without a doubt. But there is a true capital-M, movie star opposite him in Denzel Washington. To have the sheer presence he has in every role is a feat itself, but Washington goes above and beyond as the slimy, scheming head of the Gladiators, Macrinus. He’s one of the greats, and another Oscar nomination (possibly a win?) is surely in his future. 

Gladiator II doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it’s a worthy follow-up. The performances from top to bottom are all at least solid, with Denzel standing out above the rest without a doubt. The set pieces, particularly the Colosseum fights are exhilarating and inventive, especially the including of SHARKS in a flooded arena. The film itself maps so precisely over the structure of the first, so there are not many twists or reveals that can slip by. It’s the only sequel to Gladiator that could exist, and will undoubtedly entertain the masses all the same.