The first “Gladiator” stands as one of the crowning successes of Ridley Scott’s nearly 50-year career. Anchored by Russell Crowe’s role as the general turned slave turned gladiator, Maximus, “Gladiator”’s spectacular production design and compelling performances — including Joaquin Phoenix as the cowardly Emperor Commodus — propelled the film to massive commercial and critical success. Its sequel, “Gladiator 2,” brings the same vicious action, royal intrigue and immense spectacle that made the first such a hit. However, even its new characters fail to fully constitute a film with an identity separate from the original.
“Gladiator 2” is set 16 years after the events of the first. Maximus’s sacrifice to return Rome to its republican roots seems to have been in vain, as Rome has returned to tyrannical rule. This time, those in power are the fraternal emperors Geta, played by Joseph Quinn, and Caracalla, played by Fred Hechinger.
Lucius — Commodus’s nephew and the grandson of Marcus Aurelius, played by Paul Mescal — has found his way into married life in the African province of Numidia going by the name “Hanno” after having to flee Rome as a child. A Roman armada commanded by General Acacius, played by Pedro Pascal, invades and efficiently takes care of the Numidian defense, Lucius’ wife among them.
The battle, much like the one that kicked off the first film and Scott’s 2023 film “Napoleon,” is a prime example of Scott’s talents in his historical epics — he is a master at creating spectacles of colossal scale while still highlighting individual actors. This scene particularly spotlights Mescal’s Lucius, revealing the duality of his character — a warrior who would give up his life fighting the Romans, but also a broken man who had everything taken from him as a child.
After the battle Lucius is taken captive and sold into slavery to the businessman Macrinus, played by Denzel Washington, who promises him a chance at Acacius’s head if he fights for Macrinus as a gladiator. Lucius begrudgingly accepts, kicking off the main plot of the film. Though not a gladiator at heart, Lucius’ thirst for revenge takes him to the Coliseum in Rome, where a web of political intrigue in and out of the arena is spun.
If this plot sounds familiar, that is because it is. The film — although it does add some twists of its own, particularly concerning Macrinus and his role as an outsider who breaks into the imperial circle — follows the narrative of the first almost beat for beat. When Lucius is dragged into Rome in a horse-drawn cart, or when Lucilla schemes with Senators to overthrow the corrupt emperor, it is hard not to feel that the film is just lifting scenes from its predecessor.
For what it’s worth, Macrinus, whose role is maybe the only one without a direct parallel to the first film, is far and away the most compelling character. Macrinus politiciks his way to the top of Rome’s hierarchy, from outsider to consul, bringing with him the same charisma Washington has had his whole career on screen. A big name with a legacy of successful performances, the 69 year-old actor is sure to attract plenty of attention to the film. Similarly to his roles in films like “Malcolm X” or “Training Day,” Washington delivers a commanding performance in “Gladiator 2”, commanding the screen with even the subtlest of gestures.
His co-star, Mescal, is believable enough in his role but lacks neither his predecessor Crowe’s hypermasculine, archetypically gladiatorial aura, nor the sensitive touch that brought Mescal to stardom in “Normal People” and “Aftersun.” His career until now has been primarily in independent film, and in his first big budget role, Mescal isn’t making much of a splash — instead, viewers' attention will always be locked on Washington every time they share the screen.
A major reason for this is that unlike Lucius, Macrinus feels new to this world — everything from his lavish, gold embroidered robes, inspired by the Orientalist paintings of Jean-Léon Gérôme, to his demeanor, laughing in the face of Senators, conveys his status as an outsider, bringing a shock to the Roman status quo. Mescal, on the other hand, isn’t doing anything in his role as Lucius that we haven’t already seen time and time again, including by Crowe in the first “Gladiator”.
Like in “Gladiator,” a majority of the runtime is spent in the city of Rome, and the Rome of “Gladiator 2” feels less immersive than the city we see in the first film. Perhaps this is the effect of shooting on digital rather than film, but everything feels a whole lot cleaner. Dust isn’t being kicked up with every step on the unpaved streets, and the mud caked on the faces of the Romans seems to have been washed away.
Historically inaccurate scenes take away from the film’s believability as well. For example, in one scene, the Coliseum floor is turned into a stadium-sized pool to recreate a naval battle, and CGI sharks swim around this mock ocean, chomping at the wood ships on the surface. Ridiculous computer generated scenes like this punctuate the film, and only serve to make the film less believable. However, nothing takes away from the movie’s most impactful moments, such as a scene near the end of the film where Lucius dons Maximus’s armor and wields his sword to fight in the Coliseum.
Regardless of the film’s diminished atmosphere or ahistorical tone, it is just as violent, and the film’s fight choreography is head and shoulders above “Gladiator”’s. The original’s shaky close-ups conveyed each slash’s violence but made the action harder to follow. Scott pulls the camera back in “Gladiator 2,” letting the fights breathe without sacrificing any of the brutality.
While it has been 24 years since the now 87 year-old Scott directed “Gladiator,” “Gladiator 2” is just as dynamic as the Oscar-winning epic. Despite his old age, his directing still carries the same energy it always has. While “Gladiator 2” isn’t quite in the upper echelon of legacy sequels, nor is it among the best in Scott’s filmography, it brings exactly what you would expect from a sequel to “Gladiator” — action, spectacle and, of course, nostalgia.
In a year where high quality blockbusters are in short supply, “Gladiator 2” is an old school, sword and sandal film that delivers on its promise of grand entertainment, even if it doesn’t entirely forge new ground.
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