The original version of «Gladiator II» contained a spicy scene with Denzel Washington, in which he kisses a man before killing him.
However, during the editing process, the filmmakers cut it out — because of concerns about perception, as Washington himself explains.
«I kissed a man on the lips in a movie, but the scene was cut out. I think they were afraid. They weren’t ready for it», — says the actor (via Games Radar). «I killed that man in five minutes. It was Gladiator. It’s the kiss of death».
Gladiator II» takes place 16 years after the events of the original film and focuses on Lucius (Paul Mescal) — grandson of the former Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius and son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). The protagonist lives with his wife and child in Numidia, but after the invasion of General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), he is sent into slavery — in fact, he will repeat the fate of Maximus from the first film.
Washington appears in the film as a former slave and gladiator, and now a wealthy and brutal arms dealer named Macrinus, who plans to take control of Rome. In previous interviews, the actor described his character as someone who «would sell his own mother and children».
At the moment, «Gladiator II» has quite decent scores on Rotten Tomatoes (76% «freshness») and quite modest on Metacritic (67 out of 100). If summarize the reactions to the moviethe picture will look like this: the script is confusing, the fight scenes are epic, and Denzel Washington is brilliant (he, like Ridley Scott, is predicted to win «Oscar»).
Since yesterday, «Gladiator II» has been broadcast in Ukrainian cinemas.
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