Gladiator 2 Movie Review - Ridley Scott returns to the Colosseum in style, despite some narrative flaws.

 After Ridley Scott’s quality drop in the world of filmmaking over the last few years, Gladiator 2 was anticipated yet speculated by many. Questions such as whether the acclaimed director can take another step into Ancient Rome without succumbing to mixed reception like his previous endeavors were prevalent, but the biggest one at the top of many minds was purely - will they, or will they not, be entertained? The answer to this is yes, for the most part at least. Scott’s venture back to the Colosseum to explore the story of Lucius - Lucilla’s (Connie Nielsen) mother - revamps the originals revenge-narrative into its own and somewhat distinct mini-spectacle with a lot to love, and a lot to dislike too.   

For obvious starters, this films production design is incredible - and this is showcased from the films trailer. We’re spectacularly immersed into Rome again and due to technological advancements it all feels even more real. CGI is blatantly used and it at times is a little iffy, though for the most part the overboard budget is utilized well.

The main positive for me in regards to this film is, despite following similar narrative steps to its predecessor, this ends up being more unpredictable than the original - even though in general, it’s still fairly easy to know what’s going to happen by the end. It’s great however that this isn’t just a rehash of the first - and a few characters (Pedro Pascals and Denzel Washington’s respectively)  allow this to be the case, taking slightly more complex and nuanced story due to the roles the individual characters play within the narrative. Amalgamate all of these plot-elements together and you’re simply left with an entertaining story. There’s a lot of fun to be had with this one and for the most part it all makes sense, with barely any logical inconsistencies (even though there are some immensely stupid scenes!)

Speaking of characters, however, this movie falls flat in comparison to the first. Lucius is a solid protagonist, yet fails to capture an emotional resonance as strong as Maximus. There are some hearty and somewhat-emotional scenes involving the character, yet we just don’t spend enough time exploring the outcomes of them - not getting us to emotionally root for the character as much - and this is arguably due to Mescals one-sided, though still decent, performance.

Our two new emperors deduce most stakes in the film. They’re super clumsy, and it’s unexplained how people like them even got into power in the first place. It’s this cluelessness and stupidity from the rulers that annoyingly allows our true villain Macrinus to take the stage in the final acts of the movie - though even this rise to power feels rushed, and his final battle will never even be worthy of drawing parallels to the climax of Gladiator (2000). It’s things like this that can take you out of the whole experience, especially when the first does almost everything better. On the flip side though, Denzel Washington elevates this villainous character. He’s fantastic here, though it’s Joseph Quinn who’s even better - a clumsy character, but the mere opposite of a clumsy actor, as he showcases award-worthy acting.

Cons aside, Gladiator 2 is still a film worthy of a cinematic experience. It’s unpredictable and unique narrative that stems from the likings of the first makes this hugely enjoyable, even though its narrative cons may take many out of the Ridley Scott’s epic Colosseum experience. At the end of the day though, if someone were to ask me if i was entertained? The answer would be yes!