Gladiator II Movie Review

Gladiator II (2024)

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Written by: David Franzoni (characters created by), Peter Craig and David Scarpa (story), David Scarpa (screenplay)
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Matt Lucas, Rory McCann
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
After his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum, looking to his past to find strength to return the glory of Rome to its people.

Verdict
This takes what you liked from the original and tries to copy it, adding sequel bloat for good measure. The characters are less interesting, and we get additional villains to fill the void. The scope of battles is impressive but even then they seem hollow. The story just isn't interesting. This follows the original movie so closely it might as well be a lackluster remake. The story is poor, and the budget tries to make up the difference with spectacle. Every nod to the original is annoying. It's homage for the sake of filling time, and it serves no purpose, revealing this movie is bereft of original ideas.
Skip it.

Review
A sequel to Gladiator (2000), this immediately makes a direct link with animated scenes summaring the first movie over the opening credits. It doesn't seem necessary. I'd assume this movie would want to stand alone.

This jumps right into a battle, and I don't even know these people yet. I don't know the stakes. This wants to get Lucius (Paul Mescal) into the gladiator ring as soon as possible. His town is conquered, and he's transported away as a slave. He soon impresses those in charge with his aggressiveness in killing a baboon.

Paul Mescal plays Lucius

I don't get the need for the callbacks to the first movie. This takes so many moments from the first movie. Because of that it dulls the effect in this movie. We're just watching a facsimile. It's the same story with a slave winning over the public in the ring in a quest for revenge. Instead of one abhorrent prince, we get two rather sickly looking princes.

Pedro Pascal plays General Acacius

This spends time on backstory to directly link the two movies, and all it does is slow down the narrative. I'd state the movie is losing the thread, but that's an assumption on my part. Who knows what the thread is in this movie. Lucius is fighting for freedom or maybe fighting to make this movie twenty minutes longer. This has so many nods to the original, and they all seem pointless. It's homage for the sake of it, serving no purpose other than making this movie longer than it should be. It's a bold choice to continually remind the audience of a better movie. The movie would be better served if it removed every link to the original.