Film Review: Gladiator II
- Very Average Joe
- 10 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Title: Gladiator II
Director(s): Ridley Scott
Screenwriter(s): David Scarpa
Studio: Scott Free Productions, Red Wagon Entertainment
Released: 2024
Runtime: 2h 26m
Starring: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Alexander Karim
Gladiator (2000) was and still looks great even if the plot is somewhat mediocre. The premise and plot are simple, and there is nothing wrong with that. However, if one treats it (at least in part) as an action flick, then the final act is a little dull even though it is thematically consistent. Either way, it looks great and it has an awesome soundtrack by Hans Zimmer.
This sequel follows similar character and plot templates, which is fine in itself, but it unfortunately doesn’t do it well.
Set in 200 AD, around twenty years after the events of Gladiator, the film opens with a battle sequence as expected. The Roman army invades Numidia, even though in real life the Roman Empire already controlled that area by then. Hanno (Paul Mescal) defends Numidia as the Roman army invades by sea under the command of Acacius (Pedro Pascal).
The Romans win, Hanno is a POW and is then subsequently acquired by slave owner Macrinus (Denzel Washington). Hanno wants revenge against Acacius. The plot follows him as he fights towards his target in Colosseum set pieces.
The Roman Empire is ruled by two brothers: Emperor Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Emperor Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), who are disliked by many. Amongst them is Acacius and his wife Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). Hanno is, of course, somehow connected to the main characters of the first film.
It is great to see Nielsen reprise her role and Lucilla works behind the scenes to overthrow the brother emperors. So, the idea of a coup is taken a little further in this sequel. For a film of this length, there could be more complexity and intrigue in this arc, but there is at least something.
By having the character of Macrinus, which Washington does well with, there is less room for Lucilla. The same can be stated for Geta. Quinn plays him with some similarity to Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus but also sufficiently different; Geta is more overtly vicious. Even though it may be unavoidable, it is a bit of a lost opportunity not to see more of Lucilla and Geta.
Without spoiling, the film ultimately ends in a somewhat lackluster fashion like the first. This may be expected but one of the major disappointments is that it doesn’t look good enough.
The visual effects are mostly solid. The opening sequence and the beasts are not bad; the CG is as good as one could expect because those elements are difficult to get right. The city of Rome, including the Colosseum, looks very good and contributes to the atmosphere.
What sets apart the first film are the (action) set pieces. The action is well-choreographed but more than that, the sequences are captivating and flow nicely due to the brilliant cinematography by John Mathieson and film editing by Pietro Scalia.
There is a good balance between tight shots of details of a particular move and wider shots to literally provide the bigger picture. It also uses narrow shutter angles to add a little freneticism to movement. Seamlessly woven together by Scalia, every move is clear and significant, making all the action sequences a mini-story.
The set pieces in Gladiator II have next to none of that. The setup for each set piece is big enough and the visual effects look good enough. However, the attention to detail in how it is shot and edited is lacking. The result is that the action sequences come across as generic. They are not a complete mess, that would be unfair, but it lacks the wow factor of the first film.
The other disappointment is the soundtrack. Just because Hans Zimmer is not the composer doesn’t mean it can’t be excellent. Veteran composer Harry Gregson-Williams has done plenty of good work and one can reasonably expect more. The score reuses some of the old themes and, whether old or new, is simply functional. This may be fine in another film but Gladiator doesn’t shy away from sounding like an epic; it is as if someone told Gregson-Williams not to bother for this sequel.
On balance, it’s not outright bad but it is nothing special, and one expects better from Ridley Scott. As a result, it comes across as an unnecessary sequel.
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