‘Gladiator II’ Review: A Roman Blockbuster For The Ages

While the film lacks the emotional backbone of its predecessor, Gladiator II more than makes up for it with its sprawling visuals and incredible action. Read our full Gladiator 2 review below.

It is without a doubt that Ridley Scott has been a little more hit-and-miss these last few years. While I have enjoyed most of his recent output, films like House of Gucci, Napoleon, and Alien Covenant have been widely criticised. Here, it seems that Sir Ridley has bounced back and has made another genuine crowd-pleaser with Gladiator II. 

Gladiator II follows Lucius Verus Aurelius (Paul Mescal), the young boy from the first Gladiator film who witnessed the death of Maximus (Russell Crowe), as he is forced to fight in the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the Roman Empire. He’s taken in as a slave and gladiator by Macrinus (Denzel Washington) and soon he must channel his rage into an instinct of survival in the arena. 

A glaring issue that this film runs into, is becoming a general rehash of the first film. While that film, the 2001 Best Picture winner, was more of a drama, this film strives to hold its identity as more of an action blockbuster. So while it doesn’t change much storywise, it’s more separable in terms of tone. And that doesn’t mean the story is bad by any means, after all, if it isn’t broken then why fix it? If anything the story is the most captivating bit about the film, bringing the audience back to what has become an iconic world filled with eccentricity and grand production design. That eccentricity is brought to it by some amazing performances, particularly Denzel Washington who continues to cement himself as one of the greatest actors to ever live. Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn serve as the duel Emperors and their on-screen atmosphere is nothing but electric. 

On the more serious side of things, our lead Lucius is an almost exact 1:1 copy of Crowe’s Maximus, except Mescal’s character lacks the charisma and leading man energy vital for success in a role like this. I do like him in the role and as the movie continues we see him grow more into that, but at the start, his performance isn’t much to rave over. It seems Ridley Scott hasn’t had much to direct performance-wise in his recent years, seemingly giving total control to the actors and bringing their vision into his own. Pedro Pascal on the other hand is fast growing into one of the biggest names in the blockbuster scene, having just starred in The Last of Us, The Wild Robot, and soon the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. His performance here is very straight edge but charismatic, and the way his character builds upon is probably one of the most interesting things about the film to me. Connie Nielsen returns as Lucilla in this film and she is great here, just not necessarily one of the highlights given her minimal screen time. 

Another strong aspect of this film is its visuals. From the grand design of the Colosseum to the impressive editing and cinematography surrounding the fight scenes in the film, it really has all the makings of a modern-day action classic. While it’s not perfect, as seen in some lighting issues with several dark night sequences, it is serviceable. I think there was a lot more colour this time around, compared to the last Gladiator film and the last Ridley Scott film (Napoleon), it features a lot more blues and reds, and less emphasis on the sandy colour palette of the initial instalment. A big highlight here is the flooding of the Colosseum and the naval battle held over shark-infested waters. While it’s not historically accurate, it’s not trying to be and the whole sequence was inventive and enjoyable to witness unfold. 

Gladiator II is many things, but a bad movie it is not. From the brilliant performances exhibited by the strong cast to the sprawling visuals, this one is hard not to enjoy. Ridley Scott proves he still has it and I am looking forward to hopefully many more. 

Gladiator II is directed by Sir Ridley Scott and stars Paul Mescal as Lucius, Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, Denzel Washington as Macrinus, Pedro Pascal as Acacius, Joseph Quinn as Geta, Fred Hechinger as Caracalla and many more. The film is now available in most territories and will be released in the US on November 22nd.

Thank you for reading our Gladiator 2 review. For more news, stay tuned here at Feature First.