‘Gladiator II:’ Outstanding visual spectacle
By Wendell Gaa
“Gladiator II” which is the sequel to the 2000 Oscar-winning history epic “Gladiator” starring Russell Crowe was one film I was never expecting to get made nor felt the need to be made in the first place.
When I first heard that director Ridley Scott would return to helm this follow-up to his original sword-and-sandals masterpiece, I felt a mixture of both enthusiasm and skepticism given how his recent record of movies has been less than stellar. Nonetheless I viewed “Gladiator II” at the theater with much excitement.
So there lies the big question, is it a sequel worth seeing? Yes. On the other hand, is it on the same level of quality as the first film? Definitely not. Yet one example of how you cannot always catch lightning in a bottle twice.
For those of us who have loved the first film and have seen it numerous times, we know very well its story of Crowe’s noble hero-protagonist General Maximus Meridius who was a loyal commander of the army of the dying Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (played by the late Richard Harris), before narrowly escaping execution at the hands of the emperor’s treacherous and power-mad son Commodus, who also orders the murder of Maximus’s wife and son. As a gladiator, Maximus embarks on a quest of vengeance against Commodus to avenge the loss of his family, as well as to help restore glory and honor to the Roman Republic. When all was said and done, one could say that modern pop cultural interest in the ancient Roman Empire was definitely revived because of the legacy of “Gladiator.”
“Gladiator II” focuses on the story of Lucius Verus, the son of Lucilla, daughter of Marcus Aurelius, thereby making him the rightful heir to the Roman emperorship. Portrayed by Spencer Treat Clark as a young boy in the first film, here the adult Lucius is played this time around by Irish actor Paul Mescal.
We learn how immediately after the events seen at the conclusion of the first “Gladiator,” young Lucius is sent away from home by Lucilla (Danish actress Connie Nielsen reprises her role from the first film) to protect him from would-be assassins obsessed with gaining political power over Rome. Years after he has grown into adulthood, Lucius is living a peaceful life with his wife in North Africa. But that life is permanently shattered when Roman legions led by their general Acacius invade his home and kill his wife in battle. He is then taken prisoner and forced to become a gladiator for the pleasure of the Roman colosseum audience.
I would have to say that certain aspects of what made the first movie so great are exactly what keep this sequel from being so much better than it turned out to be, most notably the visual spectacle. The arena fighting and field battle choreography throughout this film are superb and deserve accolades, but the excess of imagery here seems out of place for a movie set in ancient Rome. Whereas the first movie felt grounded and realistic, this new film’s utilization of CGI feels outlandish and unnecessary, serving more as a distraction rather than an attraction to the movie as a whole.
Most of the actors here are well-cast for their roles, although Paul Mescal doesn’t give quite as much of a standout performance when especially compared to that of Crowe’s magnificent Oscar-winning act in the first movie.
Denzel Washington’s duplicitous character named Macrinus is the definite standout performer here, as one can expect given his always respectable and dominating screen presence, although not in a way for me which should be deemed an Oscar-worthy performance.
Just like the first movie, “Gladiator II” is a film which doesn’t pay meticulous detail to historical accuracy of its Roman Empire characters, nor is it one that sets itself to do so, it is a movie meant to engage and entertain audiences, and in that respect, the film succeeds.
