More than 24 years after Gladiator, the sequel Gladiator II is in cinemas today, in which Ridley Scott builds on his Oscar success. The initial reactions were euphoric, but the detailed reviews were divided. This is part 2 now “best popcorn movie of the year” become or with its historical inaccuracies “complete Hollywood crap”?
Gladiator 2 sticks very closely to the original film… too close?
In Gladiator 2 we follow a certain Hanno (Paul Mescal) on his way to the Colosseum, where he wants to survive as a gladiator and demand justice for the crimes of Rome. Anyone who has read anything remotely about Ridley Scott’s historical sequel in advance has, of course, already known that the main character is actually the adult version of the little son of the emperor’s daughter Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) from part 1: Lucius.
After a lost battle in his African exile, Lucius is enslaved, apprenticed to Macrinus (Denzel Washington)’s gladiator racing team and directs his thoughts of revenge entirely towards the general of the twin Roman emperors Geta and Caracalla (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger). : Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal).
Even if Gladiator 2 (apart from flashbacks) follows a relatively new protagonist without Russell Crowe, they are Parallels between the original and sequel are obvious: the start of the battle and the personal loss at the beginning, the doubts of an honorable Roman general, Lucius’ rise to gladiator status, the search for revenge against the rulers in the arena – we already know all of this from Part 1, including variations with monkeys and sea battles nothing changes.
With Gladiator 2’s opening image – a full sack of grain with Russell Crowe’s iconic hand still echoing in the barley field – the visual quote may still work well. With a running time of almost 2 hours and 30 minutes, the similarities between characters, climaxes and deaths are a bit too noticeable. The long-discussed (and recently revealed in the trailer) identity of Lucius’ father perhaps best shows how much the sequel stuck in the past remains. The return doesn’t have much courage for a new story.
Gladiator 2 is a spectacle with a lot of action and little emotional depth
Who Gladiator 2 especially for the crazy action in historical clothing You can certainly enjoy the Sandals sequel: bloodthirsty baboons, rhinos ramming into walls and hungry sharks in the flooded Colosseum replace tigers and lions. Arrows and sword blades, which do their work on the human body in the best FSK 16 style, do justice to the bread and circuses character of the film spectacle.
Only It’s difficult to “feel” Gladiator 2. On the other hand, the sequel lacks the emotional underpinnings of haunting character relationships and deeply felt losses that Russell Crowe’s film had. Just because Lucius loses his wife right at the beginning doesn’t mean that that pain is believably reflected on screen, no matter how many tornadoes rage in the background of his vision of the afterlife.
Paul Mescal does a solid job as Lucius. However, Gladiator 2 is unable to show why the actor is one of the rising film stars of our time after films like All of Us Strangers and Aftersun. On the other hand, the taciturn role lacks a nuanced inner life. And so, compared to acting Hollywood greats like Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington – and especially compared to his predecessor Russell Crowe – Mescal can only lose the Roman battle for character facets.
The sequel doesn’t come close to the glory of Gladiator
While Lucius in Gladiator 2 is the elusive, angry “monkey eater” who sometimes smiles or recites poetry when necessary, in the end he remains just the ungrateful one Bearer of an oversized legacy that threatens to overwhelm him. Maximus’ armor, which hangs on the wall in the Colosseum like an altar to be worshiped, outshines any attempt at independence.
That the best scene in the film ultimately shows a small pet monkey in a dress, blithely climbing from one head to the other during a conversation between the schemer Macrinus and Emperor Caracalla, while the two carefully ignore him, should give us something to think about: Here Gladiator 2 suddenly presents itself as self-indulgent and surprising , as Lucius’ story is at no point.
Can you still have fun with Gladiator 2 every now and then? Thank Denzel Washington, yes. But does the sequel come even remotely close to the coherent heroic adventure of its predecessor? Not by a long shot.
Gladiator has been running in German cinemas since November 14, 2024.
Gladiator II Podcast: The Same Movie Again?!
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24 years after Gladiator, director Ridley Scott delivers the highly anticipated sequel. To do this, he put a budget of between $250 and $310 million on the table and brought stars like Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal on board. Filmstart colleagues Pascal, Annemarie and Christoph will tell you in the podcast whether Gladiator II is a successful sequel or just copies the first part in a rather tired way.