Ridley Scott delivers historical spectacle on a thrilling, grand scale in GLADIATOR II, but its an incredible cast led by Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal that elevate the sequel, 24 years after the original film.
Scott has always been at the cutting edge of special effects and historic epics that have spanned the centuries. A near perfect blending of the two, the film opens with a massive naval attack on the last unconquered country in Africa.
We barely have time to meet Lucius (Mescal) and his wife Arishat (the captivating Yuval Gonen) before the battle horns sound and the huge Roman ships approach, led by General Acacius (Pascal). Acacius is a brave leader, seemingly taking parts of the invasion into his own hands when the advance stalls.
The city falls and Lucius is enslaved and brought to Rome, where his initial appearances on smaller gladiator stages garner the rapt attention of Macrinus, a savvy political climber with an eye for hand-to-hand combat. In a performance that's sure to be Oscar nominated, Denzel Washington drops into Rome and steals the movie as a power broker with an astute eye for opportunity.
Screenwriter David Scarpa (Napoleon, The Last Castle) delivers plenty of terrific dialogue and Washington enriches every line reading with a dangerous, outrageously fun eye for his own future.
Meanwhile, Acacius is navigating his own dangerous path through Rome, gloriously rendered by Scott and his design and effects team. He is married to Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) former wife of the legendary Maximus (Russell Crowe in the original film).
This puts him at odds with the mad, young twin Emperors of Rome, Geta and Caracalla. Geta is mad with power and Caracalla is just plain mad, preening and killing his way through the throne room with his pet monkey on his shoulder. As global leaders, they have no strategy save global dominance, leaving their great General Acacius torn between allegiance to Rome and an understanding of fragility of their inept leadership.
Macrinus brings Lucius to bigger and bigger stages and as the Gladiator's fame grows, a select few begin to realize his lineage.
Scott stages all this intrigue like an enormous 60's biblical epic, with jaw dropping scenes that defy logic but overwhelm the senses.
The Roman Colosseum is filled with water so the mad twins can reenact legendary navel battles. The water is stocked with lumbering great white sharks that are very, very hungry. While its illogical, it's thrilling as hell. Lucius commands the gladiators around him as massive ships collide, arrows fly through the air and fireballs soar, bodies dropping into the gaping mouths of the sharks below. Everything is captured in a perfect Dolby Atmos sound mix that puts you into the Colosseum.
24 years ago when the original film hit theaters, I think we were all stunned to see tigers leaping from secret traps in the arena floor. Two decades later, bad guys ride enormous beasts and the stadium is a giant water show, perhaps we're harder to entertain in 2024. Having personally just visited the actual Colosseum and Rome last year, seeing it in its glory days was a special gift from Scott.
Beyond the grand visuals, the tale is driven by powerful stories of ambition and destiny. Mescal, Washington, Nielsen and Pascal all rise to the occasion. It's a thrill to see the always great Derek Jacobi (Dead Again, The Day of the Jackal) return as Senate leader Gracchus, still conniving after all these years. Matt Lucas is hilarious as the Master of Ceremonies and Alexander Karim (Zero Dark Thirty) shines as Ravi, a former Gladiator turned physician dispensing wisdom along with balms.
Beautifully crafted, violent, exciting and thrilling on every level, GLADIATOR II is more than a worthy sequel, for me, it equals Scott's original vision in every way. Just like that film did 24 years ago, it gets an A.
Are you not entertained?
Indeed, Sir Ridley, I am!
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