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It’s been 24 years since Ridley Scott’s Gladiator entertained the masses, wowed the critics, and took home the Oscar for Best Picture. So it’s no surprise that the sequel has been one of the most anticipated films of the year, picking up the story of strength and honor in the arena two decades later.
Gladiator II stars Paul Mescal as Hano, a soldier from Numidia, the last North African nation that’s free from the control of the Roman Empire. When the Roman army invades, Hano’s wife is killed in battle, and he’s taken to Rome as a slave. His need for vengeance attracts the attention of Macrinus (Denzel Washington), the master of the gladiators, who sees his potential to be a fierce warrior in the games. But as he’s brought into the Colosseum for battle, he ends up caught in the middle of the battle for the control of Rome.
Ridley Scott has always been a master of historical epics—and in this long-awaited sequel, the octogenarian director shows no signs of slowing down. Gladiator II is yet another visual marvel, capturing the energy, the opulence, and the battles of the Roman Empire in stunning detail. Scenes in the Colosseum are as jaw-dropping as they are brutal, whether gladiators are battling the Roman champion and his armed rhinoceros or putting on a full reproduction of a naval battle—complete with blood-thirsty sharks.
The cast, meanwhile, steps up to the challenge, taking on one bloody battle scene after another while tackling all of the politics and drama and backstabbing—while throwing in the occasional touches of Roman camp. Paul Mescal has some Oscar-winning shoes to fill in his most high-profile film yet. A massive mainstream action film seems like a huge step for a guy who’s known mostly for small indie dramas—but he handles it all with ease. Admittedly, though, he’s no match for Denzel Washington, who steals every moment of every scene he’s in.
There is definitely a lot going on here—mixing massive action sequences with military plots and political drama while tying it all in to a decades-old Oscar winner. The result is a rather overstuffed epic that fits quite neatly into the original film’s formulas. But while it may not be especially surprising, it’s still an entertaining epic from the legendary director.
Gladiator II is the kind of movie that Ridley Scott was born to direct. Though the story is complicated and ultimately predictable, the action of this historical epic is as striking as ever—an unsurprising but engaging sequel.
You can get a ring-side seat for the battle when Gladiator II arrives in theaters on November 22, 2024.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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