Gladiator II
A return to the gladiator arenas of ages past – that is 24 years ago when the first Gladiator premiered – Ridley Scott’s new sword and sandals epic appreciates the need to get more out of his premise if we’re getting dragged on another tour of ancient Rome while suffering under the inescapable rules of the sequel. Scott has always recognized the diminishing returns of repeating what has come before (for instance, the moribund Alien: Romulus) and has bravely, if not always successfully, attempted to chart a new course the handful of times he has returned to his old haunts. A lot can be said about Prometheus but it is definitely not like any other Alien film, something few others have managed. He’s working from the back foot from the start on Gladiator II, however, precisely because it is called Gladiator II. His options for charting a new path are lessened; he’s locked himself into providing more Gladiator, and that is precisely what Scott has done.
Some 16 years after the general-turned-gladiator Maximus (Russell Crowe) sacrificed himself to restore something like honest government and care to the Roman Empire, the natural corruption of the empire in decline has taken hold once more. Controlled once again by capricious rulers (Fred Hechinger and Stranger Thing’s Joseph Quinn) more concerned with feeding their appetites – particularly the blood of the Colosseum – than their people, the Roman state is in jeopardy of falling to permanent tyranny. And once again an ambitious slave owner (Washington), Macrinus, arrives with a gifted warrior touting a secret past (Mescal) whose quest for revenge Macrinus hopes to harness to force his way into the upper seats of power.
Gladiator II has its twists and turns – as much as it plays up its repetition of the originals plot, it delights in making very specific changes in reaction to that film – and if nothing else a bravura sense of scale only studio epics have ever managed (and only a handful of working directors can do as well), but also a studied refusal to ignore how much of the original it is repeating. It is, of course, about a Roman gladiator and feels duty bound to run through the colossal chaos of the previous film again. Maybe there were options for it do something different with its premise, perhaps starting with a gladiator winning their freedom and making their way in the world … but that’s not the film Scott, et al. have made. It is immediately and irrevocably tied to the plot of the original as it focuses on Lucius (played by Spencer Treat Clark in the original) grown to adulthood and forced by events to follow in Maximus’ footsteps and attempt to free Rome from its worse impulses.
Which doesn’t mean it doesn’t try to surprise, but it is also stuck by its history. Because Lucius was free and safe at the end of the first film, a reason must be made to force him to leave his home and his mother (Nielsen) behind, a traumatic event which has scarred the young man and left him angry and initially unwilling to save his homeland. He doesn’t even want to admit his own identity for the longest time, hiding behind the name ‘Aelius’ and refusing to accept his birthright as heir to the throne. Tortuous construct aside, it builds itself to some compelling drama, particularly when the focus of his vengeance (Pascal) turns out not to be a mustache twirling villain but in fact an honorable servant who genuinely wants to save the Roman citizens from their Emperors. If Lucius succeeds in his quest he will be dooming Rome rather than saving it – this is real drama!
But it can’t be the climax as obvious as that seems; at some point Lucius must follow in Maximus’ footsteps which means broader evils to fight. While the first Gladiator was more crowd pleaser than complex drama (That’s good! Crowd pleasers are good!), Gladiator II throws out all pretense of subtext: there is only text. Lucius, who was always stated as Maximus nephew with some hint of a clandestine, never acknowledged romance between General and Princess, is immediately and repeatedly outed as Lucius true father, just to make crystal clear the path Lucius must walk and the choices he will undoubtedly make. It also allows for regular mentions of moments and items from the first film, just to make sure anyone in the cheap seats missed it or is unclear who is doing what and why.
Mescal himself carries that burden effortlessly, showcasing his ability as a lead and taking hold of the film no matter how much Washington tries to walk off with it. And that’s saying something as almost every great scene is a Macrinus scene – a brilliant man surrounded by silly elites who can’t understand what he’s doing even when he tells it to their faces. The set pieces similarly rise to the challenge, larger and grander than the first film – verging on the fantastical as the Colosseum is flooded and filled with sharks during a naval recreation – and the same eye which recreated Napoleon’s battle scenes last year has lost none of its skill. Scott just knows how to make these things, better than almost anyone else.
None of that can hide quite how much of a copy of the original it is. But it doesn’t have to, either. Not every sequel can be a wholesale reinvention of new ideas (it would be nice, but it’s just not practical), but when they look like this and feel like this they at least earn their keep.
7.5 out of 10
Starring Paul Mescal, Denzel Washingtonm Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen as Lucilla, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Tim McInnerny and Alexander Karim. Directed by Ridley Scott.