Movie Review # 705: Gladiator 2 (2024)

And now, it’s time for Gladiator 2, the sequel to a classic historical action film that was released 24 years ago, soon to be 25 come next year, Gladiator. Now, let’s discuss its sequel, Gladiator 2.

Plot: Sixteen years after the events of the first film, Lucius Aurelius (aka Hanno, and played by Paul Mescal), and grandson of former emperor Marcus Aurelius, is a farmer with his wife, Arishat (Yuval Gonen) in the Northern African kingdom of Numidia. But one day, Roman General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) conquers that part of the land, kills Arishat, and takes Lucius as a gladiator prisoner by orders of corrupt twin emperors Geta, and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger, and Joseph Quinn). Now, as a gladiator, will Lucius ever reconnect with his mother, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen)? And will he, and his gladiators help revive a dream that former gladiator Maximus once had for Rome?

So, was this film as good as the first one? Well, not quite. It’s still good, but it likely could have been a little better. First of all, some of the writing for the film could have maybe been tweaked here and there. I mean especially with at least some of the character development, it could have been done better. Also, Lucius was most likely a little too big of a jerk at times. I mean some of those instances I could see where he was coming from. However, he might have gone a little overboard. Some of the villains might have had a little bit of a too nice persona at points too, especially Denzel Washington playing Macrinus. Finally, there were also some scenes that might have been a little too bloody, and gory even for an R-rated film.

But with all that said, what does make Gladiator 2 work? Well, even though this sequel wasn’t exactly needed, especially since we hardly see any of the same cast this time around, the story, though clunky in places, was overall very good. It definitely showed how the people of Rome were hardly ever willing to back down in a fight, and were willing to go all in. I’m sure that many of you heard the saying “Rome ruled the world!”, yes? Well, here’s a film that demonstrated just that. As for the majority of characters that were not mentioned in the last paragraph, they were also really good. You can really sense when a person is truly trying to do what’s good, and right, and when others are just downright corrupt, and evil. What’s even more is that not only can you see the physical battles going on in this film, but you can also sense any spiritual battles going on over the course of this film as well. Next, there are the action sequences. Now, again, some of them might have been a little too gory, even for an R-rated film. Still, even if that might have been the case at times, it doesn’t change that a lot of them were also still very well choreographed as well. Probably one of the best action sequences that this film could have had was maybe the climax of this film. The reason being is because of how neither the heroes nor the villains were willing to go down without an actual fight. The way that it was handled was excellent.

And that’s my review for Gladiator 2. Though it may not be quite on the classic level, like it’s 2000 predecessor, Gladiator is still fun, action-packed, has some really great acting, more often than not, and has a very good score. Granted, it was more violent than it most likely needed to be. And yes, some of the acting could have maybe been a little better. Some characters also could have felt a little underdeveloped at times. Despite these flaws, Gladiator 2 is still an overall fun time, even if it doesn’t quite live up to the 2000 film. Even so, definitely go see the film when you have the chance. I can guarantee that you’ll still enjoy it regardless.

Final Grade: B+