More Than Two Decades Later, Ridley Scott Takes Us Back to the Arena

Paul Mescal in "Gladiator II"
Photo Credit: RottenTomatoes.com

In 2000, director Ridley Scott gave moviegoers a brutal and emotional historical epic with “Gladiator,” starring Russell Crowe as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a general-turned-gladiator who fights to avenge his family’s death.  This was made-for-the-big-screen filmmaking for which Scott had become known, and with a powerful lead performance, a sweeping story, and intense battle scenes, Scott delivered one of the most iconic movies of the 2000s and remains one of his most notable.

Now, nearly a quarter of a century later, Scott brings us back to Rome with his long-gestating sequel, “Gladiator II.”  Despite some good performances and the director’s knack for mammoth cinema being very much on full display, this continuation comes up fairly short of Scott’s enduring modern classic.

Sixteen years after the death of Marcus Aurelius, his grandson, Lucius Verus Aurelius (Paul Mescal), has been living in the North African kingdom of Numidia after his home was invaded.  Following a defeat in battle, Lucius is enslaved and taken as a slave to flight as a gladiator in Rome, which is ruled by the tyrannical twin emperors, Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger).

While it’s difficult to perform in the shadow left by Crowe, Mescal does what he can to provide a performance of grit as someone who’s forced to fight for his freedom.  He has the physicality that Crowe brought to his role as Maximus, showing a commitment to performing the ferocity of the gladiatorial fights and exhibiting a spirit built on valor that’s needed in order to survive.  As Mescal has shown in movies like “God’s Creatures,” “Aftersun,” and “All of Us Strangers,” he’s proven to be a capable dramatic actor, and when the story gives him a little bit of depth with which to work, his talent shines through.

Just like Mescal, even though there’s not much to the characters on the page, the supporting performers still try to make something out of what’s given to them.  There’s Denzel Washington, who brings his infallible charisma as Macrinus, Lucius’ mentor; Pedro Pascal as Acacius, a conflicted army general; Connie Nielsen returns as Lucius’ mother, Lucilla, who tries to maintain her strength in the middle of arduous political strife; Quinn and Hechinger as bloodthirsty rulers; and Alexander Karim as Ravi, a gladiator-turned-doctor for wounded fighters.

The screenplay by David Scarpa offers some enticing political intrigue that adds a little bit of depth to the characters, but for several of them, you really don’t feel like you get to learn much about them that sticks out.  With the first “Gladiator,” you spent much of the first third getting to know the characters after the opening battle sequence and before Maximus gets enslaved as a gladiator.  Here, the narrative goes into the gladiatorial fights not long after the film’s big opening, as if assuming the viewers will be impatient to get to that aspect of the story.

Even though none of the character arcs are fleshed out, and without giving away plot details, it’s clear that the one involving Acacius and Lucilla had the most potential and should’ve been the main plot of the story, instead of the movie trying to follow a lot of the same beats as the first film.  When you have a big-scale historical epic such as this, you need characters who are as grand and layered as the setting they inhabit, and what we saw in that in terms of the 2000 film unfortunately doesn’t carry over to this film.  Given the 24-year wait for this sequel, we should’ve had a story worthy of the wait, one that can match the emotional impact of the original.  Unfortunately, that part of the original’s magic is missing.

Ever since the original “Gladiator,” Scott continued with a string of epics like “Kingdom of Heaven,” “Robin Hood,” “Exodus: Gods and Kings,” “The Last Duel,” and last year’s “Napoleon.”  While the quality amongst these films was very inconsistent, it’s hard to deny the work ethic that Scott exhibits in bringing these stories to life.  Despite some very shaky visual effects throughout “Gladiator II,” Scott still brings out the craftsmanship that we’ve come to expect from him.  Assisting with this is John Mathieson, who has provided the cinematography for several of Scott’s films, including the original “Gladiator” (which was his first collaboration with the director) and offers his typically grand camerawork to transport us away back to this era.  Scott and Mathieson do well with the grand views of battle in the opening sequence, while also delivering imposing, yet stunning views from inside the Colosseum.  Even though the story is the weakest part of the film, the movie is somewhat redeemed by the thrilling, epic-scale imagery of the gladiatorial fights.  Mathieson has worked with Scott for over two decades, and it’s clear that  they still have a strong partnership when it comes to making their technical ambitions evident on screen.

Scott remains one of today’s notable big-name directors, so it’s easy to understand the irresistible feeling of wanting to see a long-awaited sequel to one of his most popular films.  It has its ups and downs, and while the emperor gives his thumbs up or down to determine the fate of a gladiator, you’ll probably find yourself bringing it halfway.

Grade: B-