Gladiator 1.5

Gladiator (2000) was a cult classic immediately upon release, as fanatics of historical epics were quick to hail the film for its grittiness and epic scale. It maintained its place in the top ten movies for several weeks and stayed in theaters for over a year. And so, a ripple of fear must have passed through protective fans when a sequel was announced 24 years after its release (with Ridley Scott at the helm once again). With Gladiator II’s (2024) star-studded cast, tripled budget, and a towering reputation to live up to, the sequel was building into becoming either a smashing success or an unnecessary addition. Nevertheless, the allure of the Roman Empire and Paul Mescal is too tempting to resist, and audiences all over the world are flocking to theaters like spectators to colosseums to enjoy another round of gladiatorial games.

Under the rule of brothers Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), endless warfare has been waged by the Roman Empire with frightening boredom. Such is the case with Hanno (Paul Mescal), whose peaceful life with his wife is taken from him just as quickly as it was introduced. His city is sacked, and he’s forced to become a gladiator. Riddled with corruption and poverty, it becomes clear that any idealistic vision of Rome had died alongside Maximus at the end of the first movie. 

The concept of Rome as a land of limitless prosperity and upward mobility persists as a point of conflict throughout the movie. While some believe in it, others disregard it as a myth. Hanno’s physician, Ravi (Alexander Karim), has settled down and managed to find happiness in his newfound domesticity despite having been kidnapped and forced to fight as a gladiator. Then, there are those like General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) and Macrinus (Denzel Washington) who are bitter toward Rome. The many sacrifices Hanno must make to attain this Roman ideal is the main point of contention throughout Gladiator II.

Gladiator II masterfully portrays the gluttonous extravagances of the Roman elite. Every scene set within the city depicts their grotesque opulence. The Colosseum is flooded with water and infested with man-eating sharks for a singular game of naval combat; soldiers are placed on rhinos to then ram into gladiators, and men fight to the death as party favors for the emperors. With their limitless supply of gold and pet monkeys, the king brothers—indulged beyond reason—can only be satisfied in bloodshed. Scott heightens royal hedonism visually by powdering the brothers’ faces sickly white against their golden laurels and having them drown in their robes as if not yet grown enough to fit the role of rulers, essentially infantilizing them. Quinn and Hechinger further this childishness in their skillful performances, throwing tantrums when their divine right to rule is called into question or when public opinion begins to turn against them, clinging onto any senator that shows them an ounce of loyalty like children vying for a parent’s affection. 

Mescal does his best with what he’s given: the love and respect Hanno radiates for his fellow gladiators and Rome’s freedom carry throughout each of his scenes. However, the movie still falls flat in getting us to care about anything else. The death of Hanno’s family and the major plot twist that occurs midway through the movie are delivered so bluntly and out of left field that it’s anticlimactic before the actual climax. It also matches the first Gladiator’s plot points beat by beat, further deflating its tension. Everything, even Hanno’s battle tactics and the backstories of people around him, is ripped straight from the Maximus manual. 

Despite this imitation, though, Gladiator II still lacks much logical continuity. There may be characters passing over from the first movie, but they all seem to have forgotten every political reform Maximus called for in his final words. The film is at its best when it embraces its novelty, letting humorous eccentricity and hateful ambition intersect in Washington’s performance and allowing Pascal to flourish as he always does when his character’s personality consists entirely of being a sad, loving husband, and it’s a shame this doesn’t happen more often. 

The film’s major success manifests in its ability to entertain. Gladiator II immerses the audience in the time period; the combination of feral animal graphics, excessive bloodshed, and excellent sound haptics makes for captivating action scenes. Nothing was quite as terrifying as hearing a million arrows flying next to your ear and not knowing where they’d end up, which speaks to Ridley’s aptitude for visual storytelling over spoken. 

Ultimately, Gladiator II could serve better as a tweaked remastering of Gladiator than a legitimate sequel. Yet, while one could easily watch one of the two and end up with a good understanding of both of them, fans shouldn’t be so quick to disregard the sequel as second-rate. While Gladiator II parallels the ideas of the first movie, it’s nonetheless a work of art in its own right, with quality performances worth seeing.