Hard to believe the original GLADIATOR hit theaters in 2000… yep, 24 years ago! Now, director Ridley Scott has returned to expand the story with GLADIATOR II, which follows up on the story of Maximus, long dead, and his influence on Rome. Set 16 years after the events of the first movie, this new story follows Lucius (played here by Paul Mescal), now a strong warrior battling the armies of Rome, which is now under the command of two maniacal brothers. A Roman general named Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) leads an army that ends up killing Lucius’ love, and captures him to become a plaything for the ruler’s games. An enterprising former slave named Macrinus (Denzel Washington) sees great potential in Lucius, and hopes to use him to exact his own plans for more power. Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) is back from the original film, now a love interest for Marcus, and surprised to see Lucius grown up to become a gladiator.

The grandeur and spectacle of GLADIATOR II is really something to behold, it’s a beautiful and haunting production that recalls the days of epic sword and sandals movies of old, and a reminder that Hollywood rarely makes these types of movies anymore. Ridley Scott has poured his passion and expertise as a filmmaker into this project, and it’s probably the most cinematically impressive movie to be released this year. But it’s not a great story, and much of it feels like retreaded narrative from the original film and others like it. As the audience, we’re simply going through the motions here, and the two hour and 30-minute run time isn’t helping, as there are multiple scenes where the movie just seems to overstay its welcome.

Everyone is delivering solid performances, though Joseph Quinn, and Fred Hechinger as Rome’s new unhinged leaders often steal the show. Denzel Washington was inspired casting, but even he doesn’t seem to fine much in the way of memorable dialogue here. I enjoyed seeing Connie Nielsen again, and she slips right back into her role as if she never left. Paul Mescal is a satisfactory lead, and holds his own in the action sequences, but he lacks the charm and charisma Russell Crowe exhibited in the original movie. Pedro Pascal is an interesting character with a twist, but it feels like his part of the story was truncated and suffered from editing.

Speaking of editing, this movie seems to show signs of perhaps multiple edits that resulted in a sometimes messy final product. Certain scenes feel shuffled around, or just out of order, and this really seems like it could have been a much bigger story that was shrunk for pacing. The action beats and violence are pretty extreme too, as if Ridley Scott saw what people liked the first time around and decided to ramp it up big time here. This meets with mixed results. A battle in the arena with a giant rhinoceros is pretty impressive, but another scene in which that same arena is filled with water, boats and sharks is rather excessive in its presentation. The best moments are the more simple hand to hand fights Mescal finds himself getting into. While Hans Zimmer isn’t back for the film’s score this time around, his frequent collaborator Harry Gregson-Williams does an admirable job of referencing the now classic musical cues from the first film, while also giving the sequel an impressive sound of his own design.

GLADIATOR II isn’t a bad movie by any means, but it’s lacking substance and likely won’t fare well on repeat viewings. It’s impressive to look at and shows strong dedication from those who brought it together, but it just can’t quite hold a candle to the original. Still, if you’re even a casual fan of sword and sandals flicks, chances are you’ll find this entertaining enough to forgive the shortcomings.

GLADIATOR II hits theaters November 22, 2024

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