Review: Gladiator II

The opening credits of Gladiator II replay the events of the 2000 original, which is helpful for those of us who might need a refresher on anything beyond Russell Crowe’s Maximus saying, “Are you not entertained?!” Animated in a style similar to the logo for director Ridley Scott’s production company, Scott Free, the intro rehashes that movie’s plot, though the details of its story were never its selling point anyway. Gladiator made it acceptable in the eyes of a particular type of dude to cry at its story of a general-turned-slave-turned-gladiator filled with big emotions and even bigger battle scenes. Its sequel is less likely to earn tears from its audience or Oscars from the Academy, but Gladiator II does boast two assets its predecessor lacked: Denzel Washington and a real sense of fun. 

With both of those additions to the franchise, Gladiator II is also campier, which fits well with the revelry and excesses of Rome in its downswing. Its setting in the third century A.D. finds us still two hundred years away from the fall of the empire, but twin emperors, Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), are hungry for both pleasure and power without much concern for their people. Eager to expand their reach without thought of the costs, they send General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) in a campaign to Numidia. There, in modern-day northern Africa, his army defeats the “Barbarian” forces and captures slaves, including Lucius (Paul Mescal).  After Acacius orders the death of his beloved in battle, the young soldier craves revenge.

“It’s always a woman,” Lucius later says to one of Gladiator II’s two stand-ins for Gladiator’s Djimon Hounsou character. Like Maximus before him (and scores of other pop culture heroes motivated by fridged wives and girlfriends), he is motivated by the desire to avenge his slain love. He works to ascend the ranks of the gladiators owned by Macrinus (Washington) and fight in the famed Coliseum. Lucius pretends not to be from Rome, but he quotes Virgil and has the archetypal Roman nose, so it’s unclear who he’s fooling, but it’s not the audience. 

Only two actors return from the original — Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi — but Gladiator II often feels like more of the same. Scott still knows how to helm a big historical epic, and while this is far more consistently compelling than last year’s Napoleon, it’s nowhere near as good as The Last Duel. Gladiator II also doesn’t equal Gladiator in quality, but its battle and fight scenes are more legible and just as exciting. CGI has gotten markedly better in the quarter century since the original film was released, but there’s still some dodgy effects work here and there, particularly in the appearance of a CGI monkey. 

That scene — where Mescal’s Lucius and his fellow gladiators take on a troop of monkeys — is typical of the film; it’s big and bold and not a little silly. It’s later bested by a water battle in the Coliseum that features fucking sharks, because both the Roman Empire and this movie don’t know how to do anything small. While Gladiator II is certainly not a better-made movie than Gladiator, it’s a more entertaining one. That simultaneous decline in quality and ascent in enjoyment probably says something about contemporary society and its unfortunate parallels with Ancient Rome, but it was likely not an intentional statement by the filmmakers.

As much fun as the audience has with this ridiculousness, Washington is having an even better time. His Macrinus might not be the emperor, but he wields great political power in Rome and enjoys all the benefits of his ranking. Washington is absolutely game, grinning and delighting in the role and almost making up for the movie’s flaws. Meanwhile, Mescal, who has been such an emotional force in films like All of Us Strangers and Aftersun, is less magnetic in this turn. And it’s not just that he’s sharing the screen with Washington and a predictably strong Pascal; he might bring the necessary physicality to the role of a gladiator, but his performance lacks the intensity required for Lucius and his quest. 

Motivations for characters’ actions are sometimes opaque, with little explanation beyond just POWER and VENGEANCE. The script from David Scarpa is pretty dumb at points, and there’s nothing quite as indelible as Maximus’s big line of, “I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next!” That moment is referenced, along with plenty of other nods to Gladiator and classics like Spartacus. These mostly just serve as reminders that this is a fine enough movie, but it won’t join the essentials in Hollywood’s version of Elysium. It’ll likely just live in the purgatory of Paramount+. 

“Gladiator II” is in theaters this weekend.

Kimber Myers is a freelance film and TV critic for 'The Los Angeles Times' and other outlets. Her day job is at a tech company in their content studio, and she has also worked at several entertainment-focused startups, building media partnerships, developing content marketing strategies, and arguing for consistent use of the serial comma in push notification copy.

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