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‘Gladiator II’ a sweeping swords-and-sandals extravaganza
‘GLADIATORS II’ Rated R
English filmmaker Ridley Scott, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II two decades ago, also goes by the honorific “Sir Ridley Scott” conferred upon him in recognition of his contribution to the arts, joining other entertainment icons like Sean Connery, Elton John and Mick Jagger.
Aside from a slew of other honors, Ridley Scott has distinguished himself for an eclectic style in film genres from science-fiction like “Blade Runner” and “Alien” to historical dramas such as last year’s “Napoleon.”
His resume encompasses a lot more than that, including directing the road trip crime drama “Thelma & Louise,” for which he was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Director, an honor also bestowed for his directing of “Black Hawk Down.”
Arguably, no bigger success came for the director than his work in the 2000 swords-and-sandals epic “Gladiator,” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and his second award nomination for directing.
Now more than two decades later, Scott returns to directing “Gladiator II,” a sequel to the story of Russell Crowe’s Maximus, a Roman general who runs afoul of Emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) and ends up enslaved to be a captive combatant.
Reviewing the quasi-historical story of Maximus’ quest for revenge against Commodus for the murder of his family and Marcus Aurelius (a historical figure of the time) would take up too much space here.
While the original film was set in 180 AD, “Gladiator II” appears to be only a couple of decades in the future where a prime character in the form of Lucius (Paul Mescal) turns out to be a heroic warrior against the Roman Empire in the name of strength and honor.
Amazing battle scenes on land and sea find the Romans led by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) storming the fortress in Numidia where Lucius’s beloved wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen), a warrior in her own right, is killed by Acacius during a bloody siege.
On the losing end of battle, Lucius becomes a slave under the custody of Denzel Washington’s Macrinus, a former slave himself who became a Roman businessman who has amassed enormous wealth thanks to his acumen and brutal ambition.
Macrinus has a stable of gladiators, and he sees in Lucius a natural-born leader and great fighter, which he finds useful in many ways to make himself more powerful than he already is. He relies on his vicious trainer Vigo (Lior Raz) to run his stable with an iron hand.
The Roman Empire is under the control of truly mad twin emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn), both self-indulgent and unserious, with the former obsessed with a pet monkey perched on his shoulder.
Returning from battle a bit weary, Acacius is reunited with his partner Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, reprising her role from the original), and he’s less than thrilled with the tyrannical rule of the twin emperors who are bent on further conquest of distant lands.
The people of Rome expect the gladiator combat at the Colosseum to deliver thrills that keep them distracted from everyday troubles. They are ready to cheer for bloody carnage in any form.
The hero turns out to be Lucius whose maiden foray at the Colosseum, alongside other warriors, is fending off an attack by a pack of ferocious baboons, much to the delight of bloodthirsty spectators.
What Lucius thinks about, as he channels his rage and which pleases the crowd at the Colosseum, is how he’s going to eventually get to his mortal foe Acacius. Part of the problem may be complicated by the presence of Lucilla for reasons that may be surprising.
Like many sequels of blockbuster success stories, “Gladiator II” has the unenviable task of trying to top the original film which went on to become an iconic cultural touchstone for fans around the world.
The world of the Roman Empire and the unforgettable characters of “Gladiator” were so brilliantly crafted. Attempting to go for a grander scale was necessary, and certain aspects of the powerful battle scenes and the gripping action in the arena of the Colosseum deliver.
What appears lacking is the emotional core of the original film that involves the tragedy of a warrior bent on revenge that mirrors a basic theme repeated in the sequel.
Paul Mescal’s Lucius, though solidly physical in the role of reluctant gladiator, was given a challenging task of bringing the same gravitas and charisma to a warrior that Russell Crowe’s Maximus conveyed with visceral single-minded pursuit.
Arguably, Denzel Washington steals the show as a cunning manipulator who has achieved his station in the gilded milieu of the Roman power center, interacting with Roman senators and the emperor twins.
In the end, “Gladiator II,” playing loose with history, comes close enough to achieving its grandiose ambition of a grand spectacle of choreographed battles and gladiatorial combat such that not capturing the original film’s emotional intimacy can be overlooked.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.
