review: gladiator II

Glad all over: Gladiator II
Review by Jeff DeRouen

The first Gladiator is not even close to my favorite Ridley Scott movie (that honor belongs to Thelma & Louise), but the Best Picture Oscar-winning sword and sandal epic is universally adored, and I certainly acknowledge that it’s a whole lot of fun to watch.

And it’s that fun that Scott and company are after with Gladiator II, no doubt giving Paramount a blueprint for what future sequels (or series, or cartoons, or aerial drone shows they can “evolve” the property into) will look like.

I’d give you a full rundown of the plot, but it basically follows the original in that we have the rightful heir to the throne fighting their way to freedom in the coliseum while being nursed by Connie Nielsen. The “fighting their way to freedom” part provides the spectacle that a seasoned pro like Ridley Scott can do in his sleep.

Aside from an overreliance on CGI creatures (this movie could have been called, Gladiator II: F**k Animals), the battle sequences are big, loud, vicious, and very, very bloody – exactly what we want to see on the big screen. Even the over the top and ridiculous “battle at sea in the coliseum with SHARKS” sequence is pretty darn thrilling, because Ridley Scott knows how to do his job.

The movie, though, plays it too safe in trying to be a direct sequel and makes the obvious choice of following the “son of Gladiator” and not giving the movie to Macrinos, played by Denzel Washington. Macrinos is calculating, manipulative, power-hungry, FUNNY, and absolutely the best thing in this movie.

​Denzel is having so much fun and is so masterful here, I wanted to follow HIM as our protagonist; “spawn of Crowe’s” storyline just isn’t as interesting and feels wholly underwritten. The movie belongs to Washington anyway, so why not have given him the whole thing from the beginning?

If fun is what you’re after, then Gladiator II is a solid pick. Yeah, it ultimately suffers from
being an unnecessary follow-up, but you get a fine cinematic meal from one of our great
storytellers who always delivers a great night at the movies.