Ridley Scott returns to Gladiator to search for the dream of Rome
Legacy sequels have become a staple of Hollywood in the last decade, but legacy sequels directed by the same director as the original movie are a rare breed. George Miller has done it with Mad Max: Fury Road and Furiosa, but even those are films that stand on their own right and are able to be enjoyed perfectly without having seen Miller’s original trilogy.
Ridley Scott is really the only name in this particular game. He’s returned to the world of 1979’s Alien twice in recent memory with Prometheus (2012) and Alien: Covenant (2017) and now he’s back, twenty-four years later, with a direct sequel to Gladiator.
Take a moment to appreciate that. Legacy sequels have become so commonplace that most can be easily dismissed as nostalgia bait, but Scott helming this movie demands an immediate respect that movies like, say, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, simply cannot muster.
In This Life Or The Next
Taken prisoner by the Roman army following their invasion of Numidia, Hanno (Paul Mescal) is sold to the slave trader Macrinus (Denzel Washington) as a gladiator. From there, Hanno must fight in the Colosseum in order to have his revenge against the Roman general Acacius (Pedro Pascal), who himself is engaged in a game of politics against the twin emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger).
We took a moment to appreciate the fact Scott returned for this sequel, but I want to take another moment to throw this movie’s marketing department under a bus. I went into this movie figuratively blind, as I like to do, but was appalled by what the trailers and other marketing material revealed about this movie ahead of time. Watching the trailers now, I’ve spotted moments shown that are literally in the final seconds of the movie, but it’s worse than that…
If you know what I’m talking about, it’s too late for you, but if you don’t… well, there’s hope for you yet. There were reveals, twists, and turns in this movie that, as a fan of the first movie, had me giddy. Not only did the marketing simply not need to spoil these elements, the movie itself didn’t need to incorporate them either to be a successful story—but it did anyway.
Strength and Honour
All I needed was movie with a few action set pieces in the Colosseum and a disenfranchised main character with something to prove by fighting. I got that—and more—and although the general beats and flow of the movie are quite similar to the first Gladiator, I can’t count that as a negative. It’s a sequel. It’s the same, but different. Some, like me, will like the balance struck between the two. Others will probably call it lazy.
I don’t think this is a lazy movie at all. Ridley Scott does epic action so, so well, and although such sequences might not feel as iconic as they did in the first one—a side-effect of simply being a sequel—they’re exceptionally well-crafted. They’re spectacular, tense, and character-motivated. Every time the movie cut to a new day of fighting in the Colosseum, I was all-in.
Of course, we can’t discuss this movie without mentioning the Paul Mescal of it all. Despite being an Oscar-nominated actor, this is his first major Hollywood vehicle—his other notable film appearances being of the more art-house variety. He’s a younger, less-seasoned actor than Russel Crowe was at the time of Gladiator, but I think that youthfulness works in his favour.
The Gates of Hell Are Open Night and Day
I’ve seen criticism lobbied at Mescal that he doesn’t have the charisma of Russel Crowe. I agree with this (in terms of Gladiator performances), but Hanno and Maximus are also—get this—different characters. Hanno being a younger man operating in the shadow of Maximus is something the narrative is very much aware of, and in that regard I think this was excellent casting.
Mescal gives an incredible physical performance, and I found the moments where he let loose his rage to be incredibly affecting. Alas, with all that said, I can’t say that an Oscar nomination like Crowe received for the first movie is in the cards. His character is a great driving force in the movie, but he doesn’t quite have the depth of Crowe’s Maximus.
He’s also somewhat overshadowed by Denzel Washington, who is absolutely thriving in this movie. His charms and smiles mask a conniving hunger for power that is a joy to watch unfold. Pedro Pascal is also giving his trademark ‘brutal man of violence with a sad human side’ performance that’s always fun to watch, and Connie Nielsen is given some great emotional scenes.
Gladiator II is a fantastic and tactile movie. The sets, costumes, and action scenes feel real and full of life. Hanno has an expansive and cathartic character arc that, while doesn't reach the depths of Maximus before him, is sure to provide a satisfying cinema experience. It will inevitably have it's detractors—there's no pleasing everybody—but if you're a fan of the first Gladiator film, it's hard to imagine a world where you're too disappointed with this sequel.
Thanks for reading my review. If you liked it, consider checking out my wishlist or buying me a cup of coffee at https://ko-fi.com/kieranobrien or below.
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