Review of GLADIATOR 2: A Rabid Retread

December 4, 2024

16 years after the death of Marcus Aurelius,  the Roman army under General Acasius (Pedro Pascal) attacked Numidia. Hanno (Paul Mescal) was a warrior of the Numidian army who bravely fought back but lost, costing the life of his wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen). Hanno was held captive and became a slave. After he proved himself to be a fighter, he was trained to be a gladiator under the stable of Macrinus (Denzel Washington). This brought Hanno a step closer on his quest for vengeance. 

Ridley Scott's first "Gladiator" was released in 2000. It was about a Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius who became a gladiator after his beloved emperor Marcus Aurelius was murdered by his own son Commodus. It was a both a major box-office hit; as well as a critical darling. It earned 12 nominations from the Academy, and won the Oscars for Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe, plus Visual Effects, Costume Design and Sound. 

Memorable scenes from the first film were depicted in the artwork of the opening credits of this sequel. Rome also defeats a foreign country at the beginning of the film. Maximus and Acasius both wished to go home to family. Maximus and Hanno were both sold to slavery and became gladiators plotting revenge. Like Commodus, the twins Geta and Carcalla were ruthless emperors who resorted to gladiator games to keep the citizens of Rome happy.

The famous shot of Maximus's hand gliding over a field of tall grasses was also recreated for the sequel with Hanno's hand. Both of them were also seen picking up gravel off the ground and rubbing his hands with it before a crucial fight. A wooden sword was given to a gladiator as a symbol of his freedom. Maximus's line "Strength and Honor" is heard several times during the sequel, notably intoned by the gladiators at the very end. 

Two actors from the first film play their roles again in the sequel. Derek Jacobi is back as the ever-contrarian Senator Gracchus. The more prominent comeback was Connie Nielsen as Lucilla. In the first film, we knew her as the daughter of Marcus Aurelius, sister of Commodus, widowed mother of 10 year-old Lucius, and secret lover of Maximus. In the sequel, she is introduced as the wife of Acasius, who had angry initial meetings with both heroes.

Oliver Reed's gladiator mentor Proximo was acted with more dignity and gravitas than Denzel Washington's wily Macrinus. While Joaquin Phoenix had a subtly internal attack on the cruelty of Commodus, Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger were outrageously lunatic as Geta and Carcalla. More egregious though was the dull, uninspiring performance of Paul Mescal as Hanno, a very far cry from the sincere noble heroism of Russell Crowe as Maximus. 

As for the fights, they were more bloody and gory than before. The first film had tigers. In the sequel, owing to improvements in CGI technology, they had wild baboons, sharks and even a rhinoceros. Spectacular to watch, yes, but these were totally crazy unrealistic, very fake-looking. However, how can they fill the Colosseum with sea water deep enough for the sharks to swim in and for battleships to sail on? Inconceivable. 6/10.