R 2024 ‧ Action/Adventure ‧ 2h 28m
Gladiator won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Gladiator II will not repeat that honor, or at least it shouldn’t. Gladiator II is not a bad movie, but it’s not a great movie, either. Paul Mescal plays Lucius, the titular gladiator, who is the son of Russell Crowe’s character in the first film. Mescal is fine but lacks the screen energy that Crowe had and is overshadowed by Pedro Pascal or Denzel Washington in this movie.
Denzel Washington has been recognized as a great actor for decades, but I can’t recall a movie where he looked like he was having more fun than he appeared to have chewing the scenery here. He plays an opportunistic scoundrel who, at times, feels like he is starring in a different movie; because of this, I think his role might be polarizing. I enjoyed watching him have fun, but I could see how others could be put off by it.
Since the happenings in the first movie, the Roman Empire is now led by brother emperors who rule through fear and intimidation. One of the brothers is mad with syphilis and his portrayal is distractingly over-the-top. The gladiator arena is still in heavy use and, Lucius is forced to become a participant. Most of the fighting special effects are decent. However, there is one fight where the arena floor is filled with water and loaded with sharks. While the movie does a nice job with elephants and rhinos, the sharks were digitally rendered poorly.
I don’t think Gladiator II is a must-see film, but if you think you might want to see it, it is probably worth seeing on the big screen. Filmmaker Ridley Scott says that there will be a Gladiator III so that one will recapture some of the magic of the first one.
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