Gladiator 2 Movie Review: The film delivers great action, but…

Gladiator 2 Movie Review: Gladiator 2: Epic Movie Review released in theaters on November 15th. The movie has great action but lacks emotional resonance.

Gladiator 2 recreates the grandeur of ancient Rome, mirroring the epic scale of the 2000 original. Director Ridley Scott’s sequel relies heavily on great action but lacks the emotional depth that made its predecessor unforgettable.

The story picks up more than 20 years after Gladiator [2000], with Lucius (Paul Mescal), now known as Hanno, living as a soldier in Numidia until General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) invades and forces him back into the Roman Empire. . Under Macrinus (Denzel Washington), Lucius is once again forced to step into the arena of cruelty, eventually challenging the young emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn) to realize his father Maximus’ vision of a Rome without slavery.

The word gladiator evokes emotions and memories of Russell Crowe in Ridley Scott’s film. There is an entire generation of viewers who grew up on “Gladiator” and watched it over and over again. Unfortunately, the new film not only falls short of the original, but also disappoints in many ways.

The sequel contains more action, more gore, and a shocking score that enhances the viewing experience, but none of it can make up for the lack of emotional resonance. Unlike the original, which expertly pulled out the emotional threads, Gladiator II fails to leave a lasting impression. The family reunion and Lucius’s separation from his loved ones lack urgency and fail to keep the viewer hooked. The story, though epic, is too predictable and lacks nuance, with a few twists that truly surprise.

Gladiator 2 Movie Watch Trailer

When Lucius loses someone close to him, one is supposed to feel sympathy for him, but there is very little emotion. Perhaps the delays and the Hollywood writers’ strike are to blame, or perhaps the writing is just lazy.

The hand-to-hand combat scenes in Gladiator made the 2000 film a unique experience. The action scenes in Gladiator 2 are good, but don’t come close to what audiences who saw the Russell Crowe original experienced.

David Scarpa keeps the screenplay more or less linear, with flashbacks connecting the dots. Perhaps the only interesting character in Gladiator 2 is Denzel Washington as Macrinas, who is involved with the gallery. He’s single-minded about tactics and drives the politics of the story. But that’s not enough: the revelation that Lucius is a Roman prince should come as no surprise to us or to the Roman Empire.

The acting from the cast is superb. Everyone, from Paul to Denzel to Pedro, knows the stakes are high and delivers flawless dialogue and action-packed performances. However, without a strong emotional core, Gladiator 2 can feel like a chore, making the two-and-a-half-hour runtime feel even longer.

The challenges of making a sequel to a cult classic are manifold, and while Gladiator 2 has some good moments, overall the inevitable comparisons to the original prevent it from being an entirely new experience.

2.5 out of 5 stars for Gladiator 2.

Google User Željko Šimić

32 minutes into the movie, I packed my stuff and left the cinema. Here’s why (spoilers ahead):

In the opening battle scene, it seems that catapults launching oil affect characters differently based on their importance. For non-important characters, the oil bursts into flames, while for main characters, it only burns one person.

Roman ships can sail right up to the walls. But in a later scene, there’s a beach with shallow water under those same walls, as the protagonist walks over 50 meters into the sea with the water barely reaching his chest. This means the ships would have been stuck at least 50 meters from the walls. These two scenes contradict each other completely, because it seems that Ridley Scott managed to force nature (land) to completely change based on his needs for the scenes - because nature works like that, it just flips drastically inside 2 hours. There’s no logic, no sense of reality - and the movie is supposed to be set in a realistic world.

Roman general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) rushes into combat, tossing away his helmet while climbing a ladder for no reason - which made me think that general leading the siege is an complete id*ot. This would be instant death, as arrows were being shot from above at soldiers on the ladders. A general throwing away his armor as he rush into a battle? Very believable. Not.

Once the Romans breach the walls, they somehow flood into the main square through doors and hallways, despite none of them actually making it down the walls. Yet, they appear by some miraculous teleportation, entering the square from ground-level doors while they’re supposedly still fighting their way down.

In a scene where slaves are selected for gladiator training, Macrinus asks the main character, "What is your native language? I speak all of them". This is when I knew the movie was AI-written nonsense. Imagine asking a Japanese person who doesn’t know English, “What is your native language? I speak all of them!” Writing is completely illogical. They wouldn’t understand. Lucius, the protagonist, obviously understands Latin - he responded when called forward - so why ask for his native language!? The scene is pointless.

I haven't even wanted to see these stuff, I wanted to enjoy the story, but I couldn't not see these technical mistakes at the very beginning, they were pushed into my face, literally. Ridley Scott should be ashamed on what he made. This is garbage.

The movie heavily recycles scenes and ideas from the original, but the story moves so fast that there’s no connection between scenes. It’s like watching a video collage. People who did the movie, don't know how to tell the story. The movie is a pure money grab trying to cash in on the first movie's success.

Terrible movie, terrible script, terrible dialogue, terrible story structure. Pointless scenes, pointless movie. I’ll never finish watching this garbage. What a waste of time and money.

Google User Rendy Toule

Great costume designs - I get that they're going for this ancient Rome vibe with wine and drunks, but all these bright makeups are kinda weird + 1

Great cast! They really nailed each character's vibe and charisma + 1

Not a favorite - 0

Haven't even seen the first movie, but I can already tell it's way better than this sequel. Don't expect a colossal battle at the end - 0

This film's pretty dry, the dialogue feels emotionless - 0

What's up with the muse? The sound design definitely lacks that grand, epic feel - 0

So many things are out of place. Why is it colorful? A hidden chamber? A circus, candies? Then some Hunger Games vibes midpoint - 0

The set and costumes are amazing, but not so many blood to be 17+ I think + 1

The politics in the movie are a perfect choice for the plot. It adds much depth + 1

Is it worth a cinema trip? | Kinda, but can skip this one and wait for Wicked + 1

Total score 5/10

Google User Mostafa Raghami

A Total Failure!

1- Screenplay: Unfortunately, the movie lacks a well-developed story and screenplay. It feels like a series of short, disjointed tales stacked together to make a film.

2- Weak Character Development: Characters often become central to the story without purpose and are easily killed off. The main hero lacks charisma and appeal. For example, in the film Road House, Jake Gyllenhaal put in serious physical effort to create an athletic, compelling physique suitable for his role, which was both believable and engaging. In this movie, however, the character who is supposed to be a gladiator has notably thin arms, making his strenuous tasks like rowing all day feel unrealistic.

3- Where are the Impactful Dialogues and Quotes? It seems as though the filmmakers realized there were no memorable lines in the script and tried to survive by clinging to quotes from the original movie!

4- Powerful Soundtrack? There isn’t one. If it weren’t for occasional snippets of the iconic music from the first movie, you wouldn’t even feel the presence of a soundtrack.

5- Battle Scenes: These are poor imitations of the original Gladiator movie starring Russell Crowe. In some scenes, the style of sword fighting and character deaths are outright copies of scenes from the first film.

6- And the Biggest Mistake: 
The entire foundation of the original Gladiator movie, with Russell Crowe, was built on his devotion to his family and his profound love for his wife and son, who were murdered. But in this sequel, it’s shown that, despite being married, he was also involved in an affair with the king's daughter and had a son with her—who was about the same age as his murdered son. This damages the essence of the first film.

In Summary: If you're just looking to pass a couple of hours, munch on popcorn, and watch some battle scenes, go ahead and see it. But if you've seen the 2000 Gladiator with the brilliant performances of Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Richard Harris, David Schofield, Djimon Hounsou, and many other world-class actors, this sequel will greatly disappoint you.

To wrap up, it feels like true artistry and training are being neglected. For instance, when an actor or director is juggling four or five projects simultaneously, the quality of their work declines across all projects, leaving audiences and fans let down.

Google User Damian Boyce

After a gap of almost 25 years, Iconic Director Ridley Scott finally brings the World the sequal to his epic, Oscar Winning movie "Gladiator". The sequal see's Paul Mescal in the lead role as "Lucius" (the Son of Legendary dead Gladiator Maximus) played by Russell Crowe in the original "Gladiator" movie. "Lucius" is living the quiet life with his Wife and Son in Numidia. However, when the Roman Army under the command of "General Acacius" attack, and his Wife is killed, "Lucius" swears revenge, and like his Father before him, "Lucius" becomes a "Gladiator" as a means to go to Rome and take his revenge on "General Acacius". In truth, Paul Mescal is decent enough in the lead role as "Lucius", although he lacks the towering on screen presence of original "Gladiator" star Russell Crowe, and because of that, the movie lacks the huge emotional pull of the Original movie. However, advances in technology over the last two decades mean the fight scenes are bigger, bolder, bloodier, and better than in the original film. "Gladiator 2" may not have the heart or soul of the Legendary original movie, but as an out and out action film it definitely hits the mark, and doesn't dissapoint. Is it as good as the original "Gladiator" ? The answer is NO. But, it is a bloody good action movie in its own right.

Google user Mario Gunawan

Cant take a film seriously if it defies logic. Others have pointed out the mistakes this film has, but I think the greatest mistake is butchering of lucius character for the sake of plot.

He was angry because his mom abandoned him, but seeing that the man she remarried is a great person heals that wound.

He has hatred for rome and roman armies, but suddenly he wants, and able to lead them (again cause of his stepfather is awesome)! No dillema, just straight 180.

The speech and fight in the final scene is also illogical. The man is a warrior, the other is merchant. Are we supposed to believe that it'll be a close fight?

Opening scenes has really good cinematography though, so I salute them for that.