No director works as furiously these days as Ridley Scott. His output over the last 10 years has seen an extraordinarily steep increase as the 87 year old continues to innovate. While some may critique his style and his auteur tendencies, Ridley is an image man, and Gladiator II is his fresh canvas.
Set sixteen years after the predecessor, son of Maximus; Lucius Verus played by Paul Mescal, a newly captured prisoner of war from North Africa must fight for his life as a gladiator after being taken under the wing of Macrinus, played by Denzel Washington. While the original in 2000 let Russel Crowe take center stage and deliver one of the greatest single performances of his career, Gladiator II takes the spotlight off of a fighter in favor of multiple storylines. While Lucius fights for his life; Macrinus is busy attempting to overthrow Rome’s current emperors and take stage as ruler.
To those who still say this sounds exactly like the first Gladiator, I can’t really say much else. History repeats itself, Rome repeats itself, and most importantly, Hollywood plays itself. This is where I would typically call Gladiator II out on laziness, but when you have a story this good, the film’s only limitation becomes the advancement of practical and digital effects.
Audiences might find the repetition of a story to be straining, but visually, Ridley changes everything. The animals are scarier, the blood is far more plentiful, and combat in general happens a lot more. My only problem with the first Gladiator was its cruel pacing. I want to be entertained, not lectured on power. Regardless of this both films tie nicely together in an impressively cool way. This one is meant for the silver screen and you should definitely see it in theaters before it’s too late.
