Current:Home > Markets'Gladiator 2' review: Yes, we are entertained again by outrageous sequel -Wealth Evolution Experts
'Gladiator 2' review: Yes, we are entertained again by outrageous sequel
View
Date:2025-04-25 01:20:45
A sequel to “Gladiator” sounds like a terrible idea. How do you follow Russell Crowe’s iconic Maximus, Joaquin Phoenix’s detestable Emperor Commodus, and all that sweet swords-and-sandals action (plus a best picture Oscar win) and not look silly?
Then you watch “Gladiator II" – with killer baboons, romping-stomping rhinos, a Roman Colosseum filled with hungry sharks and Denzel Washington making a meal of every piece of dialogue – and realize, hey, maybe silly works.
Director Ridley Scott unleashes a pumped-up, action-packed sequel (★★★ out of four; rated R; in theaters Nov. 22) that lacks the gravitas of the 2000 original, mainly because it’s way more interested in pulpy soap opera. There’s betrayal, scandal, power plays aplenty and oodles of revenge, with Paul Mescal as the enslaved guy who finds new purpose as a gladiator and Washington an unhinged delight as our hero’s ambitious boss.
Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox.
This new “Gladiator” is set 16 years after Maximus conquered Commodus in the arena and died a legend. Just a boy when all that went down, Lucius (Mescal) remembers watching Maximus – before being removed from Rome for his own safety – and now lives off the African coast in Numidia, leading troops alongside his archer wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen). A Roman naval fleet commanded by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) invades their city, Arishat is killed in the attack and Lucius is taken as a slave.
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Lucius arrives in Rome and a bloody fight with a murderous monkey puts him on the radar of Macrinus (Washington), an arms dealer and “master of gladiators” with designs on ruling a bigger piece of the Roman pie. “Rage is your gift. Never let it go. It will carry you to greatness,” he tells Lucius.
Meanwhile, Acacius comes home to wife Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) – daughter of Roman ruler Marcus Aurelius from the first film – and co-emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) want to host games in his honor before sending him back out to conquer Persia and India. But he’s had it with these mad tyrants, promising Lucilla he’s not going to sacrifice another generation of men for their “vanity.”
Of course, Lucius and Acacius are on a collision course to clash in the Colosseum, but the situation gets a little more thorny as Lucilla recognizes Lucius as the child she had with Maximus – and Lucius has his own complicated feelings seeing his mom again.
While he can’t match Crowe’s warrior charisma, Mescal oozes just enough steeliness as a man considered a “barbarian” by the Roman elite, though Lucius surprises them with his poetry knowledge as well as his mettle. The man-to-man macho fight scenes are fine – mostly “WrestleMania”-style brawls with a few nicely epic kills. Scott really excels, though, at creating enjoyable mayhem: first, with the glorious opening salvo at Numidia (that’s better than most everything in “Napoleon”), and then quite a few sequences with animals. One over-the-top scene re-creates a boat battle where the gladiators die by a man’s hand or a shark’s teeth.
Quinn and Hechinger’s flamboyantly deranged emperors feel too forced – combined, they can’t hold the robe of Phoenix’s delicious megalomania. Pascal, however, is the right match for a tired military man wrestling with the morals of his savage duties. And Washington is in his element and a blast to watch as Macrinus, an ancient scenery-chewing Don King type who rocks a heavyweight title belt. There’s one scene that stars the Oscar winner and a decapitated head that is exceedingly absurd but also low-key the most fun thing in the entire movie.
So, no, this isn’t the old “Gladiator,” although the sequel certainly borrows liberally from its predecessor – not only certain personalities but also character arcs, plot points, signature armor, fight moves and even some lines.
Thankfully there’s no uttering of “Are you not entertained … too?” But still, even trading some of the original film's rich storytelling for a little campy chaos, we are.
veryGood! (38)
Related
- Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
- Warming Trends: A Climate Win in Austin, the Demise of Butterflies and the Threat of Food Pollution
- Jessica Alba Praises Her and Cash Warren’s “Angel” Daughter Honor in 15th Birthday Tribute
- Woman dead, 9 injured after fireworks explosion at home in Michigan
- Grammy nominee Teddy Swims on love, growth and embracing change
- Hurricane Irma’s Overlooked Victims: Migrant Farm Workers Living at the Edge
- The Senate Reinstates Methane Emissions Regulations Rolled Back by Trump, Marking a Clear Win for Climate Activists
- Despite soaring prices, flexible travelers can find budget-friendly ways to enjoy summer getaways
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Despite soaring prices, flexible travelers can find budget-friendly ways to enjoy summer getaways
Ranking
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Trump’s Power Plant Plan Can’t Save Coal from Market Forces
- After Dylan Mulvaney backlash, Bud Light releases grunts ad with Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce
- Video shows people running during Baltimore mass shooting that left 2 dead and 28 wounded
- US appeals court rejects Nasdaq’s diversity rules for company boards
- The story behind the flag that inspired The Star-Spangled Banner
- Elliot Page Recalls Having Sex With Juno Co-Star Olivia Thirlby “All the Time”
- U.S. Suspends More Oil and Gas Leases Over What Could Be a Widespread Problem
Recommendation
Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
Lindsay Lohan Shares the Motherhood Advice She Received From Jamie Lee Curtis
Dad falls 200 feet to his death from cliff while hiking with wife and 5 kids near Oregon's Multnomah Falls
‘This Is an Emergency’: 1 Million African Americans Live Near Oil, Gas Facilities
Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment
IPCC: Radical Energy Transformation Needed to Avoid 1.5 Degrees Global Warming
‘This Is an Emergency’: 1 Million African Americans Live Near Oil, Gas Facilities
Biochar Traps Water and Fixes Carbon in Soil, Helping the Climate. But It’s Expensive