REVIEW – “Gladiator II”

Nearly 25 years after winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, legendary director Ridley Scott continues his epic Gladiator saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance in Ancient Rome. Set 16 years later, Gladiator II opens with a paintbrush recap of the events of the first film in which the young prince of Rome, Lucius (Spencer Treat Clark), witnessed the death of revered hero and gladiator Maximus (Russell Crowe) in the arena at the hands of his maniacal ruler/uncle Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix).

The dream Maximus died for, of Rome returning to Senate rule, has largely been forgotten, replaced by a decadent society that is more focused on conquering people than bringing them together. Ruled with an iron fist by twin tyrannical Emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), Rome has become a disease that infects everything it touches. The two actors are impressive as the petulant and infantile rulers at odds: While Quinn’s insecure Geta has a desire to be respected and adored by the masses, Hechinger’s Caracalla possess an unquenchable bloodlust and constant need to be pleasured and entertained.

Sent away by his mother at a young age for his protection, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is now a grown man, married and living in a seaside African city. Known to his adopted people as Hanno, Lucius is branded a slave and forced to fight in the Colosseum after Roman conquerors, led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal), besiege his home with warships, catapults, and archers in a riveting battle sequence that ends in tragedy. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people. Mescal is defiantly heroic as the film’s champion who carries the burden of realizing the dreams of his fathers while dealing with his own personal grief.

A bulked-up Pascal is stoic and reserved as Acacius, a conflicted Roman General torn between his duty to serve Rome and his love for his wife, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, reprising her role as Lucius’ mother from the first film). His guilty conscience for the atrocities he has committed for the Emperors weighs on him and gives the actor a lot to work with behind his sad, expressive eyes. The returning Nielsen is fantastic as Lucius’ heartbroken mother who must atone for the abandonment of her son while navigating the politics of Rome to keep herself and her two dearest loves alive.

As the flamboyant and formidable Macrinus, Denzel Washington delivers one of his finest performances. Not since his role in Training Day has the iconic actor played such a despicably villainous character with such delight. Like the Don King of Rome, Macrinus the Gladiator sponsor is a power-hungry opportunist and master manipulator who plays politics to usurp the throne. Washington clearly relishes the role, chewing up every line and stealing every scene he’s in.

An epic swords-and-sandals spectacle, Gladiator II spends as much time playing politics outside the sandbox as it does gutting gladiators within. While the film indeed features grand-scale gladiator action that ups the ante from the previous installment with the inclusion of brutally bloody kills, a flooded arena, and wild beast fights (Monkeys and Rhinos and Sharks, oh my!), it spends equal time engaging in palace intrigue, showing how opportunistic men can manipulate others to seize control of an Empire. The duplicity provides a nice balance to the brutality, something the first film lacked but made up for with earned emotion.

Conversely, Gladiator II lacks the dramatic weight of its predecessor, instead rushing through its biggest reveals and deaths in its last act when new and legacy characters are killed off quickly and denied any time to be adequately mourned. By not acknowledging these emotional beats, the impact of their sacrifices are somewhat stifled. Despite these shortcomings, the entire film is an enormously entertaining experience and satisfying sequel that is worthy of twin Emperor thumbs up. 4/5

Rated R with a running time of 2 hours and 28 minutes, Gladiator II opens in theaters on November 22, 2024.