While some legacy sequels (Top Gun: Maverick, Mad Max: Fury Road) have shown that a big gap between entries can work, it is always a daunting task stepping back into the arena. Literally in the case of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2, the long-awaited sequel to his Best Picture-winning movie Gladiator. Fans of the original are likely to love the scale and action that Scott brings to this new movie, as well as the intriguing and charismatic performance by Denzel Washington, but it definitely feels like something was lost in the nearly quarter-century gap between the two entries.
Gladiator 2 takes place 16 years after the events of the first movie. Paul Mescal plays a grown up Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and true heir of Marcus Aurerlius, who was sent into hiding for his protection. He now goes by a new name, is married and living in Africa. However, when Rome comes to conquer his city, his wife is killed and he is captured and made to be a gladiator owned by the power-seeking Macrinus (Washington). Filled with rage, he seeks vengeance against the general who led the attack, Acacius (Pedro Pascal) and all of Rome, which has fallen into corruption under the twin emperors Gata (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger).
For much of the first half of the movie, the plot feels very familiar to that of the first Gladiator. As the story progresses and we get to know more about these new characters and the state of Rome at the time the intrigue builds and breaks out into its own thing. One wonders if we could have broken away a little more from the format earlier, but it’s still enjoyable easing into this world again.
Scott’s recreation of ancient Rome is just as epic in scale and design as ever. While there is of course some CGI at play, Gladiator 2 looks as good as any movie you’ll see this year from production design to the glorious costuming. Gladiator 2 affirms that there are probably only a handful of filmmakers working today that can challenge Scott in crafting the look of a movie.
The director also can still create memorable action sequences, as each battle and fight in the Colosseum is a thrilling experience. And there are plenty of fights that you won’t even dream of being bored throughout the movie’s nearly two-and-a-half hour runtime. Be that as it may, the action is a bit messier than I expected; overly frenetic to the point that certain parts feel choppy and disjointed. The end result still works, though.
The movie is also a showcase for its veteran stars. Washington has the showiest role and delivers a devilishly fun performance, one that may very well see him nominated for another Oscar (I’ll have no real arguments if that comes to pass). However, Pascal delivers my favorite performance of the movie as the conflicted Acacius, loyal to Rome but tortured by what it has become.
Surprisingly, I was less a fan of the young stars: Mescal, Quinn and Hechinger. In the case for Quinn and Hechinger, we don’t really get enough of them to get a proper sense of their characters; they may be the emperors but they are secondary players in the story. Neither are bad, but they struggle to stand out.
Mescal, on the other hand, was a bit of a disappointment. It feels as though the supremely talented star of Normal People, Aftersun and All of Us Strangers sleepwalks through this performance. Lucius is meant to be filled with rage, but when Mescal’s not engaged in battle his performance feels more lethargic. The internal conflict that he has done so well in other roles just doesn’t come through here. Maybe it’ll work better for others, but I was disappointed in Mescal’s lead performance.
Even so, the end result of Gladiator 2 is a positive one, as it delivers on everything you’d want from a Gladiator sequel. However, it doesn't hit the same ceiling as its predecessor. That certainly isn’t an easy bar to clear, and perhaps my expectations were a bit too high and I’ll enjoy the movie a bit more upon repeat viewings. But right now I’d say Gladiator 2 is good, not great; but for most that will certainly be good enough.
Gladiator 2 releases exclusively in movie theaters on November 22.
