Gladiator II (2024) – Film Review

Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal
Certificate: 15

By Roger Crow

Did we really need a sequel to Ridley Scott’s 2000 masterpiece Gladiator? It seemed such a perfect movie, from that jaw-dropping opening battle to the showdown between Maximus (Russell Crowe) and the evil Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) that few were crying out for a follow-up. And yet here we are, 24 years later with the inevitable ‘Son of Gladiator’.

Catapulted from the sublime BBC drama Normal People to the big leagues, Paul Mescal is the beefiest actor to hit the big screen in some time. His pecs alone should get Baftas, but the man has fine acting chops, and with the weight of such an epic movie on his impressive shoulders, he barely breaks a sweat in carrying on what has become a blood-soaked franchise. And there is a lot of blood, whether from badly rendered CG monkeys (the effects lowpoint of the movie) to every other battle scene.

Similar to film one, Ridley, firing on all cylinders, opens with a hand in grain rather than wheat, introduces us to the leading man, Lucius “Hanno” Verus, and his wife, Arishat, and then kicks off with the mother of all naval battles. Nobody working in cinema today orchestrates better historical clashes than Ridley, and this is one for the ages. We are also introduced to Pedro Pascal’s antagonist, Marcus Acacius, who commits an inevitable crime against our hero, is then captured, sold into slavery and becomes, you guessed it, a gladiator.

“Savage intensity”

But ignore that nagging sense of déjà vu if you can. Ridley recreates the highpoints of the first movie, often with a staggering sense of continuity, but this is a far better film than it had any right to be.

As ever with Scott movies, it looks stunning, the cast are superb, and the action scenes have a savage intensity. I can only imagine all the twenty something filmmakers studying every frame to see how a master of cinema executed those battles. But the politics are just as important. This era is the ground zero for all those political thrillers that followed, and it’s the rise to power of Denzel Washington’s Macrinus, who almost steals the movie. Denzel lifts every scene; his teeth alone are cinematically magnetic, while those acting flourishes are worthy of Pacino at his best.

Returning cast member Connie Nielsen (an expert in ancient Rome) is as stunning now as she was in 2000 as Lucilla, while comedy veterans Tim McInnerny and Matt Lucas add levity and drama where needed.

“Relish”

The twin evils ruling Rome are gloriously barking, like Caligula times two; Joseph Quinn (Emperor Geta) and Fred Hechinger (Emperor Caracalla) relish their roles, while Derek Jacobi has a glorified cameo as the returning Senator Gracchus.

If you’ve not seen the original, do yourself a favour and watch the extended version, as it’s far better than the big screen release, then see Gladiator II on the largest screen possible with the best sound system.

It’s not a perfect film by any means, but it’s far better than many could have hoped for.

Ridley, consider me entertained.