Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II Is Bigger and Messier Than the First
It’s the rare sequel that matches the original in quality.
Paul Mescal (left) as Lucius and Pedro Pascal as Marcus Acacius in Gladiator II, from Paramount Pictures.
Photographer: Aidan MonaghanIn 2000, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator made perhaps the ultimate dad movie. The story of the Roman general-turned-slave Maximus Decimus Meridus, played by Russell Crowe, reduced grown men to tears with its portrayal of honor in the face of cowardice, and went on to win best picture at the Oscars the next year. Crowe also got a best actor trophy for his stoic take on a wronged man who stands up for himself.
Now, 24 years later, Scott returns with Gladiator II, the latest legacy sequel to come out of Hollywood and one that’s guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser. These days everyone is feeling very argumentative, but the Roman Empire as imagined by Scott offers ridiculous fun for the whole extended clan (depending on your ability to stomach lots of bloodshed). Sure, the message of the movie will play differently depending on who’s watching. Is it a tale of a lone man overthrowing tyrannical madness? Or a plea for a return to old values? Or does any of that matter when you’re just there to have a good time? Are you not, as Maximus famously said, entertained?