So earlier today, I drove to the local AMC Theatres to watch director Ridley Scott's highly-anticipated sequel to 2000's Gladiator. Seeing as how the Best Picture winner starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix and Connie Nielsen was the first film I talked about when I started blogging over 24 years ago, it was only fitting that I would write a review for Gladiator II.
So what did I think of Gladiator II, you asked? It was bloody epic!
From the opening scene where Lucius Verus Aurelius (Paul Mescal, whose character goes by the alias 'Hanno' for much of the film) helps defend his colony at Numidia—a province that was the last stronghold in Africa to be conquered by the Roman Empire—from an incoming Roman naval invasion, to the final skirmish outside the gates of Rome itself, Gladiator II was an absolute titan of a movie.
SPOILERS AHEAD:
Just like Maximus Decimus Meridius (played by Crowe) in the first film, Lucius' journey towards becoming a gladiator started with him losing the love of his life, Arishat (Yuval Gonen), to the Roman invaders at Numidia. To make matters worse, Arishat was specifically killed under the order of General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal)...who also happened to be the husband of Lucius' estranged mother, Lucilla (once again portrayed by Nielsen).
Lucius and the majority of male survivors from the Numidia attack are then transported to Rome so that they can be turned into gladiators. It is at the Roman port of Ostia where Lucius engages in his first gladiatorial fight (against a horde of baboons) and meets his owner, a flamboyant patrician named Macrinus (Denzel Washington).
It is after he meets Macrinus that Lucius begins embarking on the same path as Maximus, his real father; Lucius' experience as a soldier in Africa enabled him to make quick work of his opponents inside the Colosseum...and allowed him to earn the grace of eccentric twin emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). But it is Lucius' rising in the ranks that would put him in a perilous situation where he needed to decide if he's truly going to follow in Maximus' footsteps to help end tyranny and make Rome a new republic once and for all.
SPOILERS ENDED.
I can talk about the rest of Gladiator II's plot here, but the review will just end up being extremely long because of how rich a tale that Ridley Scott crafted in this movie. Like the first Gladiator, this film is all about political intrigue—with lots of spectacular and bloody arena fights thrown into the fray.
And considering the $250 million (minus the budget for marketing) that was spent on bringing Gladiator II to life, one obviously has to talk about the technical aspects of this movie. The cinematography was awesome, and so were the production design, visual effects (done by none other than Industrial Light & Magic), editing and orchestral score.
Even though the music of Gladiator II wasn't done by Hans Zimmer this time around, Harry Gregson-Williams did a commendable job incorporating memorable Gladiator themes as "Now We Are Free" and "Strength and Honor" into his film score for the sequel. In fact, I'm listening to the Gladiator II score (as MP3s) on my laptop right now!
I expect Gladiator II to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards this January (but unfortunately not win it next March, unlike the first movie in early 2001.), but I do expect the sequel to take home a trophy or two for Best Production Design, Sound, Costume Design, Visual Effects, Film Editing, Original Score, Cinematography, Makeup and Hairstyling, or possibly Supporting Actor for Washington's memorable performance as Macrinus.
(I'll gladly apologize for the snubs if Ridley Scott gets nominated for Best Director, while Mescal gets recognized for Best Actor and Nielsen for Best Actress!)
So all-in-all, Gladiator II was as epic as I hoped it would be. Ridley Scott wants to make Gladiator III...which I hope he does assuming that the second installment performs well at the box office. Of course, considering how Gladiator II ended (I won't elaborate here), I'm wondering how Scott plans to continue the story of Lucius and his rise from a gladiator to the "prince of Rome."
We'll hopefully find out in the future!
"What we do in life, echoes in eternity."
GLADIATOR II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. ****
