It has been 24 years since the first Gladiator hit theater screens, Directed by Ridley Scott the film went on to win several Oscars including Best Picture. Many people thought that would be it for the action epic that brought fans to the height of the Roman Empire, but now in 2024, Gladiator II, the legacy sequel to the award-winning film is hitting theaters worldwide bringing fans back to that world to meet characters new and old, but is it any good?
Ridley Scott returns audiences to a different Rome in Gladiator II
Director Ridley Scott returns to his world of Rome 24 years after the first film, with Gladiator II being set 16 years after the first. The dream of Maximus and the old Emperor Marcus is long dead and twin Emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn) rule Rome and its senate with an iron fist and a cruel, twisted nature. Audiences find themselves with Lucius (Paul Mescal), the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), and the long-dead Maximus from the first film. Lucius lives in Numidia, Africa, with his wife. When Romans attack and capture the city, killing his wife in the process, Lucius is forced into slavery and then into being a Gladiator where he must rise in the ranks to help free himself and bring back the dream of a free Rome.
In the gap between the first Gladiator and Gladiator II, you can see how Ridley Scott has changed and evolved as a director in many ways. Gladiator II brings us plenty of large-scale battles filled to the brim with action and spectacle that Scott executes brilliantly, you feel every blow and strike of a sword, and you get to see the true grand scale of the armies of Rome. Gladiator II does have plenty of spectacle, you don’t get bored watching it, even in the more intimate character moments.
Scott brings us a different Rome compared to the first Gladiator, the city in the sequel feels more dirty and decrepit, you can feel the corruption and suffering of its people. One thing I did miss compared to the first movie was the sense of scale, the Colosseum doesn’t feel as grand from the outside and the sweeping shots of the city make it feel less large than the first movie where characters would look out across the city rooftops and see birds flying between the buildings. However, the inside of the Colosseum manages to get the sense of scale much better, the vast audiences and battles within are much better crafted.
Denzel Washington stands out, but some characters lack substance
There is a whole mix of acting in Gladiator II that unfortunately doesn’t make it as good as the first. The two Emperors are vastly underused in the movie, and it means Hechinger and Quinn don’t get much chance to truly show the unhinged, ruthless nature of their twin emperors, what we do get is great, but it feels too few and far between in their scenes for the film to truly make them as great villains as Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator.
The absolute scene stealer of the movie for me is Denzel Washington as Macrinus who is in charge of some gladiators and Lucius in the film. His character in the movie is fascinating and ends up being a big player in the later half of the film. Every scene Washington is in with other characters is where he shines the most and at points, it almost feels like some of the actors struggle to keep up with his onscreen and onset presence. We do manage to see lots of beautiful back and forth and a presence about his character that is befitting of such a complicated character. He is by far one of the greats of the movie.
Paul Mescal as Lucius is the main character of the film and does an admirable job at being a leading man, Mescal manages to command presence among the other characters and is played differently to Russel Crowe’s Maximus. Lucius is far more full of rage and raw strength, and it is refreshing to see a main character who doesn’t rely solely on charm. Despite this, you can enjoy his journey as a character as he reconnects with Rome and his roots and the story takes twists and turns that thrust him into all sorts of emotions and conflicts.
Gladiator II does follow a lot of similar beats from the first film, which can make you feel rather like we will know what happens, but I did find that it also managed to be different enough to help make you enjoy all the different directions the film takes. We get to see a lot more of the Roman senate in this (at the cost of scenes with the Emperors) but it is great to hear more of the inner politics of the characters and how the senate views Rome and its Emperors as they manage to get increasingly unhinged throughout the film.
The sets and visuals of the film are second to none, with the sheer scale and spectacle of the film shining through when it is needed most, the locations, sets, CGI, and action sequences are all some of that Ridley Scott epicness that keeps him being one of the top directors of all time. He manages to outdo himself in some of the sequences in this film that you will definetly want to see on the big screen.
Final thoughts on Gladiator II
To some people, there has been a question raised of “Why do we need a sequel to Gladiator?” and the honest answer is: We probably don’t. But overall, Gladiator II has enough spectacle, scale, story, and heart to make it a worthy successor and legacy sequel to the first. Despite it being a legacy sequel, it is not bogged down with trying to make what made the first movie so great but manages to find its own story in amongst the chaos.
It doesn’t quite reach the lofty heights of its predecessor in other ways, such as the characters and the leading charisma of its main protagonist. There is plenty of enjoyment to be found within the chaotic Colosseum that is Gladiator II and the action and the tender moments of this film make it a rather great successor to one of the best action films of all time.
Gladiator II is already playing in some countries, and arrives in theaters in the United States on November 22nd. Are you excited to see this film in theaters next weekend? Let us know on social media @mycosmiccircus on X and other platforms, or @thecosmiccircus.com on Bluesky!
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