Gladiator 2. - Film Review

 

Hey Film Nerds!

Went and saw the new Ridley Scott film.  The sequel to the 2000 original Gladiator, staring Russell Crown as Maximus.

Set 16 years after the original, this film opens with Hanno (Paul Mescal) and his wife Arishat defending their walled fortress from the attack by Romans on boats.  The Roman army is led by General Marcus (Pedro Pascal).

After the battle, Hanno has lost his wife and been imprisoned by the Romans, then taken back to Rome as a slave.

Macrinus (Denzel Washington) is in charge of the gladiators and after seeing Hanno in action takes him on as his champion gladiator.

In Rome Macrinus schemes to gain power as Hanno battles in the arena.

General Marcus wants to retire from war to be with his wife Lucilla (Connie Nielson). The sister of  Emperor Commodus from the first film and lover of Maximus.

The twin Emperor's of Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) are mad and want games to honour General Marcus despite their citizens being poor and hungry.

General Marcus and Lucilla plan to overthrow the Emperor twins. This is helped as Lucilla recognises Hanno.  Could Hanno be her son Lucius? Who's father was Maximus, and who she had to send away for his safety.  Has the rightful heir to the throne of Rome returned?

Overall -  I watched the first Gladiator movie before this film for the first time in years. I was surprised how much I enjoyed it and how much I'd forgotten.  If I was scoring it I would give it a 9.5/10.  It has it's flaws and sadly it was Oliver Reed's last role.

Going into this sequel I thought it would over use CGI.  It does in some parts and looks stupid. The CGI monkeys ain't great, but for the most part the CGI enhances the old Roman world.

The acting is great all round including Paul Mescal and Connie Nielson, who still looks stunning 24 years after the first movie.

Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger were great too.  The main stand out was Denzel Washington, who is great in every film he stars in.  But is he friend or foe - no spoilers!

The action scenes were good too and had plenty of gore in them.  I especially liked when they filled the Colosseum with water to battle in boats.

At the start the film feels like a retread of the first Gladiator film but starts moving in a different direction about 30 minutes in.

I also chuckled as the sickly Emperor twin Caracalla looked like the sickly Prince who wants to sing, and who Lancelot saves in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Based on some historical facts, including the fact the Emperor Twins existed. Although they weren't the same as their film counterparts, the film does a great job of bringing parts of history to the big screen.  Obviously some historical accuracy is pushed aside to provide the story.  I don't think newspapers existed in those times but are seen in two cafe scenes. Felt like there was a Costa in those times.

Bels Score -  9/10

My Score -    9/10