All those people waiting cautiously to see if Gladiator II is a disaster, you can relax. Not only is it not a disaster, it is actually a colossally entertaining film — it has great action, lots of blood and great visuals. Is it a match for the original though? Well, that depends on what you mean.
Director Ridley Scott follows the narrative structure of his 2000 film starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix to the tee, so in that way Gladiator II is definitely a match. But it retains so many elements of the original that it suffers from lack of innovativeness. Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal) is now grown up and living in another country under the name Hano. When the Romans attack, his wife is killed and he is taken prisoner. He vows to take the head of the Roman general, Acacius (Pedro Pascal), as revenge. Lucius is chosen as a gladiator by Macrinus (Denzel Washington) who promises to get him Acacius if he fights for him. As Lucius fights his way through the Colosseum arena in a week-long celebration, little does he know that Macrinus is playing a bigger game.
As you would expect, the fight sequences in the arena and the battle scene are exceptionally choreographed and shot. Each epic fight will keep you on the edge of your seat and there are enough loped-off limbs and beheadings to make even the most enthusiastic gore lover happy. Whatever its faults, one can’t deny that Gladiator II is epic in scope, a sheer spectacle of muscle, blood and sand.
Within the Colosseum the movie thrives, but outside the narrative it falls prey to a weak story and a poorly written screenplay. Most of the characters are not fleshed out well, which makes it difficult to understand their motives or feel any connection with them. Mescal, for example, is given very little to do other than fight, which feels like a waste. What definitely feels like a waste is the little that Pascal is given to do. Acacius is the only one with a valid motivation that could have added the much-needed emotional heft to the film, but that chance is frittered away. The bratty twin emperors, Geta and Caracalla, are no match for Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus in evilness, even though they surpass him in ridiculous extravagance.
The one character that keeps Gladiator II from being unmemorable is Washington’s delightfully devious and scheming Macrinus. While it would have been great to know where his desire to see Rome destroyed came from, the character has enough meat for an actor of Washington’s calibre to sink his teeth into. And sink his teeth he does so much that he ends up stealing every scene he is in. The way Washington plays Macrinus is at once menacing and campy, dialling up the hamming when necessary.
The movie doesn’t let you forget Russell Crowe’s Maximus for a second and while that will appeal to nostalgia, it prevents Gladiator II from escaping the shadow of the original.
