Gladiator II is Bad
Gladiator II is a bad movie. It’s not funny-bad. It’s also not truly awful to the point that it offends my very being. It is simply not good. Gladiator II is one big nothingburger of a movie – a film whose worst offense may simply be the fact that it exists.
If you’re going to make a worthwhile sequel to a great movie (and I consider 2000’s Gladiator great), there are two main routes you can take. First, you can build off the first movie’s story in a way that feels like a natural continuation of that film.
Many planned multi-movie stories are this way – giving us quality sequels like The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers or The Empire Strikes Back. We already know all the main players and now this new film gives us the opportunity to further explore them as well as what happens next plot wise.
Another type of sequel might have a different main cast, but retains certain aspects of the original, or maybe has just one character from that first movie. Lots of horror movie sequels are like this. For them to be effective they have to bring something new and exciting to the table in order raise the stakes and not simply be a lesser version of the original film.
Aliens is a great example of this type of sequel done really well. Besides Ripley, we’ve got an entirely new group to root for against our titular adversaries. The genre of Aliens is different from the original Alien, with the second film leaning more action-adventure and less science fiction suspense. It might feature xenomorphs and a hero we’re familiar with, but it’s a fantastic sequel because it brings a fresh take to the big screen.
Gladiator II fits neither of these successful sequel categories neatly, and though it has aspects of both types, they don’t help this clunker of a film. While it clearly attempts to be a continuation of Gladiator (with the opening of the movie even recapping that film), Gladiator didn’t end in a way that merited another chapter. It’s a movie where the entire story is basically completely wrapped up at its conclusion. Some movies simply aren’t set up well to have sequels. Films like Shawshank Redemption and Schindler’s List are fantastic. Do they need sequels? Nope. Gladiator was such a movie.
Unfortunately, where there’s money to be made, some Hollywood folks will try to make it whether or not a story is justified. Literally no one saw Gladiator and said after the film, “Gee, I wonder what happens next to the boy, Lucius, who is probably the worst part of the entire movie.” It’s such a non-thought that no one was even able to think it for 24 years, when grasping at straws for sequel ideas, director-producer Ridley Scott decided to center a sequel around it.
Perhaps Gladiator II would’ve been a better film had it wholly committed to being the second type of sequel. Sadly, Gladiator II brings exactly nothing new or creative to the table. What we get is another version of the original Gladiator revenge story, but with everything not as good quality-wise as in the first film.
There are many aspects that go into crafting a great film and Gladiator had all of them. One element that really elevates that movie are the performances of Russell Crowe, as our hero Maximus, and Joaquin Phoenix, who plays the extremely evil Emperor Commodus. These are two fantastic characters, expertly played by two outstanding actors.
Gladiator II features actors I’ve really enjoyed in other projects, but the performances in this movie are really subpar. Pedro Pascal as General Acacius is basically sleepwalking his way through his scenes. Paul Mescal is our protagonist, Lucius, and his performance is completely void of any sort of emotion. He’s supposed be filled with “rage,” but it’s not there at all on the screen – he’s just sort of there, going through the motions. Perhaps Ridley Scott is mainly to blame for not being able to get a lot out of a quality cast.
As far as villains go, no one in Gladiator II holds a candle to Phoenix’s Commodus. We have twin evil emperors this time around, so I suppose that’s supposed to elevate how bad they are since, you know, there are two of them. Denzel Washington is also in the movie. His performance is fine by comparison, but it’s nothing amazing or special either.
The fight scenes in this sequel too are not all that impressive. If nothing else, Gladiator II should at least be a lot of fun. If you’re not going to make a great movie like Gladiator, fine, but at least have excellent fight sequences to keep me entertained. Instead, we get a lot of blatantly CGI animals that feel zero percent real and, as a result, not at all exciting. Those crazed CGI super monkeys near the earlier part of the film are probably the worst offender.
If you’re looking for a fresh take on something from the world of Gladiator you won’t find it here. Gladiator II is a film that constantly reminds us of that first superior movie with characters reminiscing about how great Maximus was. Maybe it’s not the best idea to keep reminding your audience of a far better film while they’re watching a very mediocre one.
Gladiator II is a Hollywood cash grab that’ll give moviegoers a movie they never wanted. It’s a sequel that tells a story that’s certainly not worth telling, filled with subpar action and lackluster acting. Are there worse movies out there? Definitely. But none are quite as soulless and as obvious an attempt to make money off the name of an over 20-year-old movie people loved. Skip this dud and just go re-watch the original Gladiator again instead.
Grade: 3.5/10