16 years after the death of Maximus, Rome is under the collective boot of twin emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger).
A wealthy arms dealer, Macrinus (Denzel Washington), buys a new gladiator, Hanno (Paul Mescal), who he sees as the key to bringing the emperors, and the entire empire, under his control.
I remember reading an Empire review of Gladiator which came out in 2004/2005, right after the wave of epic movies it influenced (Troy, King Arthur, Alexander etc) had not been able to replicate its success at the box office.
The author noted the key difference between those movies and their inspiration was how simple Gladiator’s story was.
It is a movie about one man’s vengeance.
Maximus’s family are murdered by Commodus. He finds Commodus and murders him. Fin.
I am not the biggest fan of Gladiator - I am not sure I have watched the movie in about 20 years - but that point always stuck with me.
And it was all I could think about watching Gladiator II.
I always found the happy ending of the original a little simplistic.
At the time the movie came out, I was deep into Roman history, so when the film ends with a re-founding of the Republic, I rolled my nerdy eyes.
In its very DNA, Gladiator II seems to agree.
This film is far more cynical about politics and human nature than its predecessor. It reminded me of Ridley Scott’s last sequel, Alien Covenant.
Like the first film, this is a story about revenge. But it is also about power - what it is, how it is used and how it corrupts.
The key conflict in the movie is between the cynicism of this film and the idealism of its predecessor - both within the text, and without. It is hard to view the film as a reflection of the very different contexts of the nineties and the very different context of the 2020s.
This clash is emphasised even more by constant flashbacks to key moments from the first movie.
The movie is at war with itself.
Star Paul Mescal cannot help but stand in Russell Crowe’s shadow. This is no disrespect to the man who has been getting great notices for other movies.
Frankly, his role is a blank. Not terrible, but it feels like a poor facsimile of Maximus.
And he is not helped by being in scenes with Denzel Washington.
As the ultimate villain of the piece, a former gladiator-turned-power broker, Washington powers up the movie every time he slinks onscreen.
Grinning and dead-eyed, he gives the movie a sense of forward momentum. He is Maximus’s true successor, using his talents and new wealth to manipulate and coerce the corrupt Roman machine until he is at its controls.
Charismatic and funny, he also comes across as more at ease within the genre - he makes the faux Shakespearean dialogue sing.
The movie is at its best as Gladiator’s younger, scummier brother - and Washington almost makes it worth it.
One wishes the film had found a way to sidestep Mescal’s story - every time he is foregrounded, it feels like an echo of the older film. Even when the film makes some interesting twists to complicate his journey, Washington’s presence is a constant reminder of what this movie’s real strengths are.
