Gladiator II is coming to cinemas in two weeks and the first euphoric reactions already promise an action blockbuster in a class of its own. But not everyone agrees with the storm of enthusiasm: a respected historian criticizes the fact that the film deviates greatly from the reality of the time in several places.
Historical criticism points to three major flaws in Gladiator 2 even before its theatrical release
The plot of Gladiator 2 revolves around the now grown-up boy from Gladiator: Lucius (Paul Mescal). As a fighter, he finds his way back to the Colosseum in Rome under Macrinus (Denzel Washington). The epic trailers released so far have already provided insights into the action festival, which includes, among other things, a rhino, monkeys and sharks in the (flooded) arena. But is all of this historically accurate?
Dr. Shadi Bartsch, a history professor at the University of Chicago who teaches classical studies and holds degrees from Princeton, Havard and UC Berkley, spoke to the Hollywood Reporter about what she thought of the depiction of ancient Rome in Gladiator 2 holds: “This is complete Hollywood crap. I don’t think so that the Romans even knew what a shark was.”
In fact, ship fights were probably held in the Roman arena, but putting the sea predators in them is apparently an invention of Ridley Scott and his film crew. In addition, other animals apparently do not quite correspond to reality: “[Der römische Dichter] Martial wrote a poem in 80 AD about a rhinoceros throwing a bull into the air”explains Dr. Bartsch, not the kind shown in the film with two horns, but that Rhinoceros with only one horn. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the gladiators rode the massive animals.
According to Bartsch, the crown of historical incorrectness is a seemingly small scene in Gladiator 2, in which a Roman nobleman drinks tea in a café and a Reading newspapers – 1,200 years before the printing press was invented became. “They had daily news – Acta Diuma – but these were carved in stone and placed in specific places. So you had to walk to them and you couldn’t hold them in your hand. Plus there were no cafes!”
Ridley Scott’s previous historical film Napoleon was criticized last year for its historical impropriety. However, this didn’t bother the filmmaker so much, which is why criticism of historical errors in Gladiator 2 will probably roll off his back. And the planning for Gladiator 3 has already started anyway.
When does Gladiator 2 start?
Gladiator II is coming on November 14, 2024 in German cinemas. If you want to watch the first film again beforehand, you can currently do so in the stream on Magenta TV or RTL+.