Gladiator II Review

Photo Credit - Paramount Pictures

Yes, Braveheart walked so Ridley Scott’s Gladiator could fly, but those wings helped the 2000 film usher in a whole new era for historical epics. Far from the first harsh take on ancient Rome, Gladiator offered the most brutal depiction of the oft-romanticized ancient civilization seen to that point. After almost 25 years of mostly unsuccessful attempts by other filmmakers to duplicate Gladiator’s magic, Scott takes us back to Maximus’s dear Rome in Gladiator II.

Gladiator II picks up 16 years after the first film and follows Lucius (Paul Mescal), a Roman refugee, as he fights in the Colosseum for the opportunity to avenge the death of his wife. That premise probably feels familiar because it is, but Scott does enough in the follow-up to give Gladiator II a life of its own.

The most noticeable thing about Gladiator II is that it doesn’t take itself as seriously as the first film. It feels less like a high-brow cinematic marvel and closer to an entertaining popcorn movie like 300.

David Scarpa’s script gives Gladiator II the same structure, themes of vengeance and corruption, and plot points as the classic that birthed it. However, the shift comes from his infusion of more humor here than the previous film featured. It gives a nice balance to the biting quips of social commentary and bloodshed littered throughout the film.

Scott’s pacing further enhances that lighter mood. The first film crawled as if it were a means to let Maximus’s pain hang over our heads like a dark cloud. Scott moves Gladiator II at a pace where there’s never enough time to allow Lucius’s pain to stay with you. That works because it leaves space for the well-placed callbacks to the OG film and other moving pieces of Gladiator II to help drive the plot.

While Scarpa’s and Scott’s efforts behind the camera give Gladiator II its identity, the folks in front of the camera are the real MVPs in this one, starting with Denzel Washington. Mescal may be the star of Gladiator II and does nothing to embarrass himself, but the movie belongs to Washington. His performance as Macrinus is almost equal to his Oscar-winning turn in Training Day. It’s definitely his most entertaining part since then and yet another reminder of why he’s on everyone’s GOAT list.

Washington isn’t alone in his dominance of Gladiator II, as the duo of Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger are also scene stealers. In line with the movie's previously mentioned change in tone, Quinn and Hechinger aren’t as dark as Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus from yesteryear. They find a different way to your bad side via sheer ineptitude. Quinn and Hechinger play it in a Beavis and Buttheadesque tandem, and it is excellent.

If there is a downside to Gladiator II, it lies in the things that made the first film great only being decent or serviceable in this one. Again, Mescal isn’t terrible, but his performance doesn’t pack the punch of Russell Crowe’s Maximus. The cinematography and set design in the first film were special to the point of making a premium format viewing a must. Sadly, Gladiator II doesn’t replicate that and doesn’t offer much in that way at all. The redundant plot is also an issue, but it doesn’t drag the film too far.

Gladiator II is a good, not great, sequel to one of the 21st century’s best films. It does a solid job of moving the lore forward, with Washington’s most charismatic performance in over 20 years and a greater emphasis on entertainment. It would have been interesting to see where Scott and company could have taken the Gladiator franchise with a more original storyline. Still, there’s more than enough to like about Gladiator II that makes it worth the price of admission.