Gladiator 2 is more glitzy than it is grisly, and not in a good way
Film review
On the surface, Gladiator 2 fills you to the brim with promise with its impressive cast including, Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, and Pedro Pascal—a sequel to the original that has stood the test of time with its relationship with audiences. Ridley Scott returns in the director chair insisting this is one of the best things he’s done, screenwriters attached whose credits include, Napoleon (2022), All the Money in the World (2017), Top Gun: Maverick (2022), and The Batman (2022). More so, its trailer teases epic arena battles with blood-thirsty monkeys, Rhinos, and the Colosseum filled with water. But let me assure you that all the glitz doesn’t result in a work that justifies the hype on display. Dangling fancy names in front of your audience can only achieve so much.
The biggest problem is the plot. Despite trying to tug you in with reminiscence of the former film by linking itself as a continuation of the events that occurred in that story, it’s not engaging. There’s no soul to be found, a plot that exists just for the sake of generating a sequel into the world. So much so that it feels as if it was generated by artificial intelligence. The characters give off the same impression too. There’s no emotion to be felt towards them. No tears to be shed like you may have done with Russell Crowe’s Maximus, and no anger to be felt towards the antagonists, just like you did with Joaquin Pheonix’s Commodus.
Throughout the dull drama, there’s a constant itch to get thrust back into the arena where the only source of entertainment occurs. Just when you begin to feel bored, we’re thankfully thrown into the battle with the vicious monkeys albeit if it’s over in a flash. The computer-generated images of the monkeys are quite stark, looking a bit too clean to convince us of any realism. This is the case with all of the violence and special effects in the film. Even a bloody slash to the throat looks too clean. The scenes that should be grisly are too glitzy. Scott has previously proven he can pull a team together to replicate creatures and violence with a bit more authenticity in more recent contemporary examples such as Alien: Covenant (2017). I find it hard to believe it was such a challenge that they had to rely on CGI as much as they do with Gladiator 2.
Although the action sequences are competent at stimulating the audience, you wish for the violence to be bloodier, more threatening and more ruthless. The themes of power should be disturbing and pack more of a punch regarding its relation to our history. The ruthlessness of power is better demonstrated in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune films, where you feel more transported into the world of science fiction than you do with your own in Gladiator 2. With Scott being renowned for his skill at world-building, why does this one fail to pull us in?
All these problems lead you to the conclusion that the work feels as if it were rushed. Scott shitting out films like there's no tomorrow is nothing new. The guy is a workaholic. Working at this pace hasn’t prevented him from delivering the goods. The Last Duel (2021) is one of the best he’s done in recent years. Even House of Gucci (2021) demonstrated high competency. But it’s as if Scott was too eager to get to the finish line with such an ambitious work. The elements of detail and care don’t show themselves here. Perhaps Scott did put a great deal of care into this as he regards it as one of the best that he’s done. Maybe his high acclaim is all but a marketing ploy. It’s hard to get to the truth of the matter. But sadly, Gladiator 2 feels like a machine powered by essential elements with no heart to them. Unlike the former 2000 work, this won’t leave behind a legacy.
Out in UK cinemas now