Did Ridley Scott’s superb 2000 insta-classic Gladiator virtually define Epic Stand Alone Story? Yes, it did.
Did ANYONE truly ask for a sequel, especially 20+ years later? Not that I recall.
However, as seems to be his way these days, the legendary 87 year old (wow!) director has been revisiting some of his early titles with cinematic expansions to decades old tales and it seems that the blockbuster Russell Crowe vehicle from the turn of the century was now due for a revisit.
Now that I’ve witnessed this questionable sequel, how do I feel about its seemingly extraneous existence?
Not bad, actually. Not bad at all.
While certainly not a necessary sequel, Gladiator II is actually pretty good. Not great, like it’s rightfully renowned predecessor, but definitely a solid addition that does not embarrass what came before, for some reason reminding me of 300 (2006) and its under-rated sequel, 300: Rise of an Empire (2014).
I need to return to the whole ‘Ridley Scott is 87 fucking years old!’ thing.
At a time in most people’s lives, should they be lucky enough to live a healthy existence up to that point, when they are winding down, taking life a bit easier, easing gently toward the light…not this dude!
He’s still firing on all 8 cylinders and pumping out solid epic after solid epic! Holy shit!
I’ll readily admit that not ALL entries in his extensive filmography from over the last two decades have hit all the way, not like peak ‘Ridley’, but even the ones that stumble or fail still LOOK amazing, they still have that grand cinematic sheen that Sir Scott can probably conjure up in his sleep by now, and sometimes, that alone can be worth the price of admission.
This highly impressive and accomplished senior citizen is a clearly force of nature bred from some tough stock. This realization prompted me to mention to a good buddy, who I went to see this with, that should Ridley Scott’s time on our corporeal plane expire while behind the camera, mid-shot, mid-production…it would be entirely fitting, and with his current output and no signs of retirement, increasingly more likely. Hey man…do your thing! I’m not complaining!
I’m also not complaining about Gladiator II…much.
Gladiator II picks up 16 years after the events of Gladiator. The dream of a Roman republic, as posited by ‘Maximus’ (Russell Crowe) just before his heroic death, has failed. Rome is now cruelly ruled by a pair of maniacal co-emperors, brothers ‘Caracalla’ (Fred Hechinger) and ‘Geta’ (Joseph Quinn), who are still cruelly pressing onward militarily to further colonial expansion, in a bid to continue the empire’s aggressive imperialism.
Leading the naval armada on the co-emperor’s orders is ‘General Acacius’ (Pedro Pascal) and he has his sights set on one of the last North African coastal strongholds. As the attack is carried out, we follow a foreign villager in the besieged town known as ‘Hanno’ (Paul Mescal), and his wife ‘Arishat’ (Yuval Gonen) as they prepare to defend the cliffside fortress with the rest of the population. In the bloody battle that ensues, ‘Arishat’ is killed and ‘Hanno’ is captured by the Romans, to be pressed into service as a gladiator.
From there, it is revealed that ‘Hanno’, is actually ‘Lucius’, the son of ‘Lucilla’ (Connie Nielsen), surviving sister to ‘Emperor Commodus’ (Joaquin Phoenix) in Gladiator, and he now has his vengeful sights set on ‘Acacius’, whom he blames for the death of his wife and destruction of his adopted home, not knowing that ‘Acacius’ is now married to his mother. Using an uneasy relationship with a charismatic but cunning arms dealer named ‘Macrinus’ (Denzel Washington), a man of deep ambition, ‘Lucius’ works his way through the gladiatorial ranks, while also navigating the various bloody twists, nefarious turns and overall political back-stabbery of key figures in Roman high-society, at a time when society itself was fraying, control was slipping and the illusion of order was dimming out.
Let me get my main Negatives out of the way first – casting.
One in particular.
I’ve never seen Paul Mescal in anything before this (that I know of), but I hate to say it – while he was serviceable in the role, even just fine, at times…he was easily the least interesting character onscreen. Everyone else brought the goods for this story, but this guy…who has an…interesting, even unconventional…look, just didn’t carry the same level of magnetism and charisma that Crowe seemed to bring effortlessly the first time around. Dude was in great shape, don’t get me wrong, but I never felt myself caring for his plight or warming to his mannerisms.
It also didn’t help that there are scenes where he, for some reason, is in command of stuff, without feeling like it was earned. He just…was. I blame either the script or, more likely, the editing.
Leading into Negative Number Two – as with almost all Ridley Scott flicks, they often get chopped down for more theatre-friendly running times and often, if you know what to look for, you can feel the absence of…something. Connective tissue that was cut away, stumbling the pace. Here, it was most noticeable going into Act Three, to the point where my buddy and I simultaneously asked ‘Does it feel like something’s missing?’. The narrative abruptly felt choppy and episodic, lacking the patient but effective pace that led up to it. Terrible flashes of the Kingdom of Heaven (2005) Theatrical Cut debacle all over again! The horror!
As with the first Gladiator, I can easily see an Extended Cut being unleashed for this sequel and, as with virtually all of Ridley’s past DC’s, I suspect that the flow of the story and the added material / detail will greatly enrich what is, admittedly, already a pretty rich tapestry of sword-n-sandal story-telling.
And lastly, a certain revealed lineage is, what I perceive to be, an affront to the deeper essence of a beloved character from the first movie, a bit of ret-conning that tainted the inherent ‘good’ of what we were left believing when Gladiator’s credits rolled. It bothered me more than I thought it would, but…it wasn’t a deal-breaker. There’s some other little nitpicks that I COULD delve into, if I wanted to be a petty dick about it…but I don’t. No movie’s perfect, and some things I can just let go, if everything else works to come together.
If I’m straight-up about it, I quite liked this sequel, unneeded though it may be, and had a good time checking it out on The Big Screen; those complaints aside, valid as they may be. As with ALL other Ridley Scott flicks (completist nerd that I am), this one WILL eventually find its way into my ever-swelling Blu ray collection…that’s just a given, and I do look forward to checking it out again from the comfort of my own couch, with my Better Half beside me, no doubt drooling over Pedro Pascal the whole time.
As already noted, Ridley Scott is STILL an amazing director / producer and this is yet another glowing example of that. The man knows ‘epic’, and again flexes that here. There are some seriously awesome, large-scale battle scenes that ensue in the 2 hour 28 minute run-time, with two exciting notables being on water; the first being the brutal opening naval attack and the other being the ridiculously flooded Colosseum, complete with warships, fire and sharks! But those are only two, folks! There’s others featuring killer baboons, all manner of fighters and archers, and a goddamn rhino, all of which put a lot of splashing red to good use. Yes folks, this flick, like it’s predecessor, does not hold back, boasting some legitimately gruesome kills in among the many scenes of carnage.
Gladiator II handily earned it’s R Rating, and it was great.
Also great was the sound design which, like the cinematography, is no surprise, considering the man in the driver’s seat. The battle sequences had impact and range, but the smaller, quiet scenes also benefitted from a deft touch in the Sound Design department, with the little interesting background ‘incidentals’ helping fill out the world beyond the characters and the spaces they haunt.
All in all, I don’t think this movie needed to be made…but it was. And it’s not bad! I’m NOT angry it exists and am glad that it doesn’t embarrass or diminish the first film (much) and in many respects, this sequel acts as a cool companion piece to a modern classic.
In many respects, it’s simply pretty damn good!
The story (boasting some loosely historically accurate characters and events) ties into the first film well, the cast is capable, intriguing and ‘roughly attractive’, the action is plentiful and varied, boasting all kinds of fun gore and death, the score is appropriately epic, as is the robust and enthusiastic Production Design, all married together by Sir Ridley Scott’s singularly uniquely epic vision and DP John Mathieson’s gorgeous, wide-scale cinematography. I can understand if the admittedly pudgey run-time may turn some peeps off seeing Gladiator II on The Big Screen but if you appreciate the films of Ridley Scott, especially his various historically-inspired epics from over the decades, I think you owe it to yourself to check this one out.
It’s big and cinematic in that way only he seems able to pull off, and a true fan should bathe in the gorgeous visual compositions, glowing down and searing your eyeballs from the largest screen possible.
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