Gladiator II (2024)
Country: US/GB/MOR/CAN/MAL
Technical: col/2.39:1 148m
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger
Synopsis:
18 years after the death of Maximus in the arena, the emperors Geta and Caracalla exercise a despotic rule over the empire. In one of their endless projects of expansion, Rome's foremost and increasingly reluctant general brings home prisoners of war, one of whom unbeknownst even to himself is the son of Maximus and Lucilla. Enemies of circumstance, they will ultimately join forces and revive Marcus Aurelius' dream of Rome.
Review:
The gimmick of the first film was the way in which the Colosseum became the arena for political revolution, leaning for additional support on Commodus' famed obsession with gladiatorial combat. All hopelessly unhistorical, of course, as is this sequel: although the twin emperors were indeed mad and internecine, they hated each other a lot more than shown here, and Caracalla purged on for another six years after his brother's murder. The change is engineered so as to bring forward Washington's flamboyantly ambitious lanista, slave of the former emperor Aurelius, to a position of power behind the throne. Mescal makes for a relatively pallid Maximus substitute, but improves as the movie wears on, while the machinations of realpolitik play out ever more unbelievably on the stage of the amphitheatre, now a star of the show in its own right. Scott commands some magnificent vistas as usual, worthy of display in the Louvre, and the presence of Nielsen and Jacobi, along with musical themes from the earlier film, mean that it all adds up to vigorously enjoyable entertainment.
Country: US/GB/MOR/CAN/MAL
Technical: col/2.39:1 148m
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger
Synopsis:
18 years after the death of Maximus in the arena, the emperors Geta and Caracalla exercise a despotic rule over the empire. In one of their endless projects of expansion, Rome's foremost and increasingly reluctant general brings home prisoners of war, one of whom unbeknownst even to himself is the son of Maximus and Lucilla. Enemies of circumstance, they will ultimately join forces and revive Marcus Aurelius' dream of Rome.
Review:
The gimmick of the first film was the way in which the Colosseum became the arena for political revolution, leaning for additional support on Commodus' famed obsession with gladiatorial combat. All hopelessly unhistorical, of course, as is this sequel: although the twin emperors were indeed mad and internecine, they hated each other a lot more than shown here, and Caracalla purged on for another six years after his brother's murder. The change is engineered so as to bring forward Washington's flamboyantly ambitious lanista, slave of the former emperor Aurelius, to a position of power behind the throne. Mescal makes for a relatively pallid Maximus substitute, but improves as the movie wears on, while the machinations of realpolitik play out ever more unbelievably on the stage of the amphitheatre, now a star of the show in its own right. Scott commands some magnificent vistas as usual, worthy of display in the Louvre, and the presence of Nielsen and Jacobi, along with musical themes from the earlier film, mean that it all adds up to vigorously enjoyable entertainment.
Country: US/GB/MOR/CAN/MAL
Technical: col/2.39:1 148m
Director: Ridley Scott
Cast: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger
Synopsis:
18 years after the death of Maximus in the arena, the emperors Geta and Caracalla exercise a despotic rule over the empire. In one of their endless projects of expansion, Rome's foremost and increasingly reluctant general brings home prisoners of war, one of whom unbeknownst even to himself is the son of Maximus and Lucilla. Enemies of circumstance, they will ultimately join forces and revive Marcus Aurelius' dream of Rome.
Review:
The gimmick of the first film was the way in which the Colosseum became the arena for political revolution, leaning for additional support on Commodus' famed obsession with gladiatorial combat. All hopelessly unhistorical, of course, as is this sequel: although the twin emperors were indeed mad and internecine, they hated each other a lot more than shown here, and Caracalla purged on for another six years after his brother's murder. The change is engineered so as to bring forward Washington's flamboyantly ambitious lanista, slave of the former emperor Aurelius, to a position of power behind the throne. Mescal makes for a relatively pallid Maximus substitute, but improves as the movie wears on, while the machinations of realpolitik play out ever more unbelievably on the stage of the amphitheatre, now a star of the show in its own right. Scott commands some magnificent vistas as usual, worthy of display in the Louvre, and the presence of Nielsen and Jacobi, along with musical themes from the earlier film, mean that it all adds up to vigorously enjoyable entertainment.