November 11, 2024
by Carla Hay
Directed by Ridley Scott
Culture Representation: Taking place in the year 200, in Rome and in the African kingdom of Numidia, the action film “Gladiator II” (a sequel to 2000’s Oscar-winning “Gladiator”) features a predominantly white cast fo characters (with some black people, Latin people and Asians) representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: Lucius, the long-lost son of Maximus Decimus Meridius (from the first “Gladiator” movie), becomes a prisoner slave of the Romans, and must fight his way to freedom, just like his father.
Culture Audience: “Gladiator II” will appeal mainly to people who are fans of the first “Gladiator” movie, movie’s headliners, director Ridley Scott, and sword-and-sandal action films.
“Gladiator II” is not as emotionally gripping as 2000’s “Gladiator,” but this action sequel delivers the expected epic battle scenes and competent acting. Shallow characters and phony-looking fight beasts are part of this predictable story. There are no real surprises in “Gladiator II,” which should satisfy viewers who don’t expect this sequel to be superior to the original “Gladiator,” which won five Oscars, including Best Picture.
Directed by Ridley Scott (who also directed 2000’s “Gladiator”) and written by David Scarpa, “Gladiator II” sticks to the same formula of “Gladiator”: The main character is enslaved as a prisoner of the Romans, and he becomes a gladiator to fight for his freedom. In “Gladiator,” the main character is a former Roman general named Maximus Decimus Meridius, played by Russell Crowe, who won an Oscar for Best Actor for his role in “Gladiator.” In “Gladiator II,” the main character is Maximus’ long-lost son Lucius (played by Paul Mescal), who is out to avenge the death of his wife, who was murdered by Romans.
“Gladiator II” begins in the year 200, which is 16 years after the death of Maximus. Lucius, who is 28 years old, has been living in the African kingdom of Numidia, where he was sent to live for his safety when he was 12 years old. Lucius was renamed Hanno, which is the name he uses for himself for most of the movie. His father figure/mentor is named Jugurtha (played by Peter Mensah), who is a brave warrior. Lucius’ wife Arishat (played by Yuval Gonen) is also a warrior.
Numidia gets invaded by Romans in a massive, hard-fought battle that Numidia loses. The Roman general who leads this battle is Marcus Acacius (played by Pedro Pascal), who is ruthless in war but has a gentle side when it comes to his wife Lucilla (played by Connie Nielsen), who is Maximus’ former lover. Marcus is Lucilla’s second husband. She was a widow in “Gladiator.” Lucilla is also the mother of Lucius. (Alfie Tempest has the role of Lucius as a 12-year-old, seen in flashbacks.)
Lucilla’s brother Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix in “Gladiator”) had incestuous feelings for her and was the chief villain in “Gladiator.” As seen in “Gladiator II,” there was gossip about who was the actual biological father of Lucius. After the events that took place in “Gladiator,” and there was political upheaval over who would control the Roman empire, Lucilla feared that Lucius would be murdered, so she sent him to live in Numidia.
Arishat is killed in the battle against Numidia. Lucius is devastated by her death and now has more motivation for hateful vengeance on Romans. Lucius, Jugurtha and many other Numidians are captured and sent to Rome to live as slaves. You know the rest: Lucius must become a gladiator to possibly rise through the ranks and gain his freedom.
The gladiator fights are seen as amusing entertainment for those who gather to see these bloody and brutal battles. The fraternal twin emperors who rule Rome at this time are Geta (played by Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (played by Fred Hechinger), who are stereotypically decadent and corrupt. Geta is the taller “alpha male” twin who prefers women to be his sex partners. Caracalla is the shorter “beta male” twin who seems to be sexually fluid or gay. Geta and Caracalla do a lot of smirking and pouting, but it’s fairly obvious early on in the movie that these two spoiled brothers aren’t nearly as cunning as the story’s biggest villain.
A wealthy, openly bisexual Roman businessman named Macrinus (played by Denzel Washington) takes an interest in Lucius, just like someone takes an interest in buying a star athlete for a team. It should come as no surprise that Macrinus, who has influence with Geta and Caracalla, is ruthlessly ambitious and has ulterior motives for making Lucius a “pet project.” The inevitable manipulations, betrayals and showdowns happen in a formulaic way.
“Gladiator II” is much more gruesome in its violence than “Gladiator.” There are also some scenes where the gladiators battle very fake-looking baboons and sharks. These visual effects make “Gladiator II” almost look like science fiction, which takes a lot of realism out of some of the battle scenes. Not much is shown about the relationship between Lucius and Arishat, except brief and superficial flashbacks, therefore depriving viewers of a meaningful backstory of this love relationship.
All of the cast members give solid performances and do the best that they can with dialogue that is often hollow or downright corny. Washington makes the most out of his villain role to give the movie’s standout performance. Mescal does well in the action scenes, but his Lucius/Hanno character has about as much personality as a video game character.
Most of the supporting characters have even less impactful personalities. Ravi (played by Alexander Karim) is a gladiator-turned-doctor, whose main purpose in the movie is to tend to Lucius’ injuries and listen to Lucius’ vent about Lucius’ misery and rants about getting revenge on the Romans. There’s also a caricature-like master of ceremonies (played by Matt Lucas) for the gladiator fights.
After the death of Arishat, Lucius is an embittered loner who is reluctant to accept Lucilla as his mother, because he believes that he was abandoned. There’s a “will he or won’t he forgive his mother” subplot in a half-hearted effort to give Lucilla some type of storyline, but her romantic entanglements aren’t explained adequately. The identity crisis of Lucius/Hanno is barely explored because the action scenes get the biggest priority in the movie.
As it stands, “Gladiator II” is a feast for anyone who likes to see gory fights from the Roman Empire era depicted in a movie. The movie’s costume design and production design live up to epic movie standards. But for others wanting a great story in between the battles, “Gladiator II” will leave others feeling hungry for more substance in how interpersonal relationships are portrayed in the movie.
Paramount Pictures will release “Gladiator II” in U.S. cinemas on November 22, 2024. The movie will be released on digital and VOD on December 24, 2024.
