Gladiator II (2024) Review

Gladiator 2 was a movie I wasn’t particularly excited about, even though the original Gladiator from back in 2000 was a film I enjoyed immensely. Russell Crowe led a fantastic cast, with almost every character being memorable thanks to performances that still mesmerize to this day. Practically everything that made the first Gladiator such a success appears to be missing in the 2024 release.

The main character, Lucius, played by Paul Mescal (All of Us Strangers), along with his archer wife, is forced to defend their city when Roman soldiers attack. Led by General Marcus Acacius, played by Pedro Pascal, the attacking force overwhelms the city’s defenses, killing Lucius’s wife and enslaving him in the process. Lucius’s fighting skills are noticed by Macrinus, a schemer with big dreams who trains gladiators for the arena.

Played by the always wonderful Denzel Washington, Macrinus becomes a central figure and, quite frankly, the most interesting character in the film by a large margin. One could easily argue that this is largely due to the gravitas and skill Washington lends to the role, and I would agree.

The main villains of Ridley Scott’s latest endeavor are two emperors rather than the usual one. These two characters occasionally shone through the middling material; however, just when I thought something interesting about them would be revealed, the script had other ideas, leaving me feeling deflated. The actual story itself can be likened to The Force Awakens, a Star Wars movie that played it safe by closely copying the 1977 story—only here, the writers failed to improve on the original.

Ridley Scott directed one of the greatest films ever made, in my opinion—the iconic Blade Runner (1982). While he hasn’t always created films of this stature, his efforts are usually decent. I do, however, expect a bit more from Scott, and this is where I feel let down. He didn’t quite phone it in, but it came uncomfortably close.

The story was convoluted, and the main actor didn’t have the charisma required to carry a movie of this scale—especially when standing beside the likes of Denzel Washington.

Other actors felt wasted, too, such as Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi, who I felt could have been utilized in better ways. The film mostly looked amazing, aside from the occasional CGI-rendered baboon or shark. The experience is one I doubt I’ll ever repeat, as Gladiator 2 will not join its predecessor on my Blu-ray shelf. As a spectacle, it was fine, and for the robes-and-sandals crowd, it may satisfy enough. But overall, it’s a very middling film from a director who may be past his prime.