On November 13, the epic historical action film «Gladiator II», a sequel to Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning «Gladiator», which was released 24 years ago, finally started showing in cinemas. In the last 4 years, this is the third major historical film from the tireless director. But while «The Last Duel» (2021) was mostly positively received by the public, last year’s «Napoleon» was harshly criticized by many viewers. In the review below, we tell you what feelings the new «Gladiator» — evokes: just admiration or embarrassment.
Genre epic historical action
Director Ridley Scott
Starring Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, Fred Gehringer, Derek Jacobi, Rory McCann, Matt Lucas
Premiere movie theaters
Year of issue 2024
Website IMDb, official website
16 years after the death of Marcus Aurelius, the majestic Roman Empire is ruled by the brothers Caracalla and Geta, whose aggressive policy knows no bounds. Meanwhile, Lucilla and Maximus’ son, Lucius, lives peacefully in Numidia, located in North Africa, but the raking paws of Rome’s bloodthirsty masters reach there as well. Under the leadership of the brave general Marcus Acacius, the Roman army conquers these lands and takes the brave men who manage to survive as prisoners.
Lucius is among those doomed to become cannon fodder in the Colosseum arena, to the amusement of the audience eager for entertainment and spectacle. The slave owner Macrinus redeems him and promises him that he will have the opportunity to get even with Acacius for the death of his wife. But cruel political intrigues make their own adjustments to the situation, and now the fate of the empire will be decided not only on the battlefield, but also within the walls of the luxurious imperial palace.
Ridley Scott seems to have done it again. Although, predictably, not at the same high level as the first «Gladiator», the sequel has become a worthy successor to the great original.
«Gladiator II» — is the kind of movie that is so lacking in this era of sterility and monotony in high-budget cinema (yes, ubiquitous superheroics, this is a stone in your direction). This is an epic, heavyweight, unabashedly noisy and pretentious, visually stunning, absurd in a good way, monumental and violent movie with a tearing soundtrack. It is exactly what it should be. But the main thing is that it is unquestionably honest with its viewer and gives exactly what you expect from it.
Zack Snyder tried to produce something similar, only within the framework of space opera, in his «Rebel Moon», but despite similar ambitions to strike with epic bloodshed and the sacralization of wheat, Zack’s was much worse.
His space saga was full of ridiculous passions, one-dimensional function characters, and a story that seemed to be generated by artificial intelligence. Ridley Scott’s creation features real people who are immersed in adequate, reasonable conflicts. And alongside the caricatured degenerate emperors, there are interesting, slightly more complex characters, such as Denzel Washington’s Macrinus. And there is a certain soul here, which cannot be said about the Netflix opus.
Recalling the key episodes of the first film in the opening credits, Sir Ridley captures the attention right from the start with a lavish scene of the Roman fleet attacking Numidia. Fireballs fired from catapults are used, which instantly brings to mind another historical epic by the English director, «Kingdom of Heaven».
When it comes to the gladiatorial fights, the director’s desire to impress the audience (as well as the desire of the organizers of the bloody fights to satisfy the local audience, which suggests a meta-narrative) is admirable. Yes, there were some kinks because all this fun in «Rise of the Planet of the Apes» and «Jaws» at the maximum — that is clearly too much. However, Scott is honestly trying to surprise and entertain, and this unencumbered by historical accuracy, perhaps even childishly naive sparkle according to the 86-year-old filmmaker is captivating.
It’s not just the references to the original that make the viewer’s eye happy, but the way everything looks in the frame. If a scene calls for blood to be shed, it will be shed. If you realize the scale of the action, you will definitely see a general plan of a packed Colosseum. If you want to hint at the predatory nature of the character, just look at Denzel Washington’s luxurious clothes. Except for some lame CGI effects, visually and technically, this is an almost perfect movie. What can we say about the awe-inspiring moment when Maximus’ sacred armor appears in front of the viewer.
Of course, «Gladiator II» is noticeably inferior to its outstanding predecessor, which in principle did not need a sequel. But you have to understand that this is an expected, obvious result, and comparing them is hardly appropriate, given how much time has passed and how much cinema and the world has changed. But as a sequel released many years later, this is an absolutely viable movie.
You don’t have to go far — Tim Burton pulled the same trick with his «Beetlejuice» only the difference between the releases is even more significant. Frankly speaking, it’s better to have such belated second «Gladiators» and «Beetlejuice’s» at the box office than to have the 35th operational film within the MCU «Captain America» or the 36th «Thunderbolts».
With this project, Ridley Scott confidently proves, to the chagrin of his many detractors, that his mind is still clear, his directorial hand is still firm, and he has more than enough powder in his barrels. And no matter how much one may want to criticize the eminent director for his past painful failures, which were undoubtedly very disappointing, this time the thumb is definitely up.