Gladiator II (2024) Review

“Speak to me, Father”

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

When Gladiator came to theaters in 2000, its success upon awards season (winning 5 of 12 Oscars including Best Picture) set the bar in how high on quality a movie can be made in the new century. So much changes have occurred in the industry for both better and worse because Hollywood got severely attached to IPs and have minimal risks to originality. Expectations were high when Ridley Scott chose to make a sequel that some wonder this would be worth anyone’s time. I like to think it was worth mine at least.


PLOT


2024’s Gladiator II takes 16 years after the events of the first film. Rome is now ran by corrupt twin emperors Geta & Caracalla. In the kingdom of Numidia, a young solider named Hanno is overthrown by the General Justus Acacius Roman army that he would be enslaved and his wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen) would die in battle. In Ostia, he would be trained to be a gladiator and would quickly hold his own when sent to an arena fighting baboons. This impresses his new master Macrinus of Thysdrus so much that he promises to arrange an opportunity for him to kill Acacius if he wins enough fights in Rome. At Rome, Acacius is deemed a war hero and wants to take a break from the fighting, but the emperors want to conquer Persia & India next. When Macrinus arrives to the Capitol, Hanno proves his will in an impromptu gladiator duel at a party held by Senator Thraex (Tim McInneerny), as well as prove to be intelligent when quoting Virgil’s Aeneid. As this makes Macrinus suspicious, Senator Gracchus (Derek Jacobi) plan to overthrow the emperors with the help of Acacius and his wife Lucilla, hoping to restore Rome to the vision Marcus Aurelius intended. As Hanno would also hold his own in various coliseum fights, Lucilla would quickly deduce him to be her son Lucius who she sent away to protect him from rivals of the throne. When she tries reconnecting with him one night, he rebuffs her for what she did but she encourages him to use his strength to survive that came from his biological father, Maximus Decimus Meridius. At the same time, a conspirator tells Macrinus that their affair happened due to her than husband being homosexual and she took secret lovers like Maximus. With the information that Lucius is heir to the throne, he intends to use his popularity to bring him good favor with the Romans. The following day after another successful battle in the colosseum, Lucius would show his intent on revenge by throwing a sword at Acacius in attendance. Macrinus would also put use of spies to alert the emperors of his and Lucilla’s intent on treason. He even sets up the idea for the emperors to send him out to the arena and fight Lucius. The heir takes pleasure in facing him the day it happens, but he ends up hesitating when the general expresses respect towards Maximus. When he officially refuses, the emperors order their guards to shoot him down with arrows, which they do. As this incident causes a mob to unleash, Macrinus would manipulate Caracalla to kill Geta. Knowing the Senate will see him act delusional, he vows to restore order by ordering Lucilla and her conspirators to be executed at the colosseum, with only Lucius to defend her, knowing it’ll causes another mob to defuse against Caracalla. Before that happens, Lucius sends the gladiator physician Ravi to request aid from Acacius’ legions outside the Capitol. As Lucius would also rally other gladiators to fight by his side, Macrinus takes advantage of the commotion to kill Caracalla himself and shoot Lucilla with an arrow, while the rest of the senate are slain in the commotion. He flees outside Rome only to be chased by the heir. His praetorians would engage against Acacius’ legions outside, but would stop when Lucius claims the throne by slaying him personally him. This victory would inspire him to persuade both armies to unite with him for a stronger Rome. The film would then end with Lucius returning to the colosseum to mourn the loss of his mother and calling for his father.


THOUGHTS


I for one never asked for a sequel and I don’t know anyone personally that ever did because it’s gonna be hard to move from a compelling Russell Crowe made out of Maximus. However if anyone knew we’d get anything close enough to be epic, Ridley Scott would be the one to do so still helming the director’s chair. Is this thing better than we got from him before? Hell no, but you gotta respect the guy in going far enough to be captivating in its own way. He does play with history a lot since having a flooded colosseum battle wouldn’t be possible at the time, but it is still cool to look at. The visual effects are quite visceral in moments like that, as well as seeing  gladiators take on Glyceo the Destroyer riding a rhino, a group of baboons or even evading sharks as part of recreating the Battle of Salamis. The production/costume design still delivers in being what makes this era as alive as before. Harry Gregson Williams also gives his own compelling score that brings its own revitalization, thus making each action scene all the memorable. In a certain way, this sequel stands out for the right reason by reminding us the world is worth fighting for when having leaders willing to think ahead for the future and the lasting impact that can be built from those full of nobility/honor. The first film had a haunting antagonist out of Commodus, whereas we got a double dose of being unhinged out of both Geta & Caracalla. You know you can’t trust anyone willing to have a monkey part of counsel. Although these two were actually a year apart from each other rather than be twins as depicted here, Joseph Quinn & Fred Hechinger showed these two to be cruel & unstable where they hardly have any control of themselves, which that alone led to someone worse being able to manipulate them so easily. Denzel Washington is a better villain people can expect as Macrinus because he’s got all the ambition to spread his ruthlessness. This depiction of him reveals that he himself was a slave and he fought for his freedom that led to him being the arms dealing businessman that the Capitol recognizes him for. Rather than find solace as a free man, he chose to live with hate and wanted to make the Capitol feel his pain until he lost in the blink of an eye. Rather than accurately hold it for 14 months, it was fitting for him to lose power overnight because it showed being a schemer results in temporary success. It becomes all the more fitting for him to lose it from someone who deserves it way more. We know Lucius never had a journey like here, but storywise, it makes sense for him to have something in reflection to what Maximus went through. It’s obvious Russell Crowe will be irreplaceable as the preceding protagonist and although it would’ve been cool for Spencer Treat Clark to return, Paul Mescal was a strong replacement because he was able to match Maximus’ spirit when it mattered most; Mescal was able to show him to be one who let go of his naiveness and turn his own anger as his tool. Before even losing his wife, his anger mostly came from having to be away from home and not being able to understand the good intentions behind it. Connie Nielsen returning as Lucilla was a must because she was the only one left who visibly had her father’s spirit of compassion in wanting Rome to be a better place. Truthfully, she’s still a good mom for wanting to protect him from a fight for the throne when he was still a child. She could’ve not expected him to have such ups & downs, but it was way better than being assassinated at a young age as his separation led to his return home, which in turn made her death not in vain. She married Acacius because they shared the same goal and Pedro Pascal made him likable because he grew weary of his duties as general. He knew there should be limits in expressing ruthlessness compared to the emperors and it is a shame his idealism got him killed too. What made it sadder is that he died being forced to fight his stepson, whose father he respected. Lucius barely chose to forgive him before his execution because he knew he never was his true enemy after all that had already happened. Once the power returned to his hands after taking down the real threat, it is safe to assume he had a better reign than predecessors with the spirit of his parents by his side. This movie ain’t so bad, but there were a few moments that had me scratching my head. For example, did Acacius even recognize Lucius when he shot his arrow at him? I know he faced a lot of people in Numidia, but it’s crazy he doesn’t remember those who survived his wrath. Second, I don’t see the point of Macrinus not asking Lucius why he wanted the general. If he wants his trust, knowing his reasons could’ve went a long way. Also, how did the emperors not hear Lucilla recite the same poem Lucius said at the party? Geta was like an earshot away compared to Macrinus, so I don’t buy him being oblivious compared to his brother. And personally, I don’t think Lucius should be surprised the emperors wanted him to be merciless towards Acacius since that is exactly how he was towards Glyceo. I then wonder how the hell did anyone remember what Maximus said at his last fight against the Germanic tribe “What we do in life echoes in eternity”? I refuse to think Lucilla would know since she wasn’t there when it happened so if you’re saying one soldier from his era made that shrine with that quote, that should be way more clear. Lastly, it was totally on Lucilla not preparing herself for spies whenever she had her secret meetings with fellow conspirators. Considering her brother had spies, she should’ve dealt with it better by having her own spies. Ignore this, then you’ll enjoy this sequel for what it is. In short, Gladiator II hits the right checkmarks in being a strong sequel that maintains the predecessor’s spirit as fluent as possible, in turn being genuinely entertaining. If you enjoyed what was done before, I’m sure you’ll like this as well.