24 years after the first film, ‘Gladiator II’ follows the story of the son of the protagonist of the first film played by Russell Crowe, who was sent away to save his life from those who wish to kill him as he is sole heir to the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius after Marcus Aurelius has passed on. Sixteen years after the death of the emperor, twin brothers have taken rule, Geta and Caracalla, and they do so with debauchery, violence, and corruption. Hidden away in the African city of Numidia, Lucius Verus Aurelius, now called Hanno, lives a peaceful life with his wife. But the emperor twins have spread Rome’s influence and they have sent their general Acacius to take Numidia. During the siege, Hanno loses his wife and is taken as a slave where he is bought by the gladiator stable owner Macrinus. Macrinus sees Hanno’s potential due to his rage and uses him as a weapon against Rome while all Hanno wants is revenge against Acacius. What Hanno doesn’t know is that his mother, Lucilla is now married to Acacius and is secretly plotting to overthrow the emperor twins and return Rome to its former glory.
It’s a huge complicated plot with so many moving parts and yet, none of it feels terribly important. The whole film’s story runs through in less than a week and most of the big ideas about Rome and righteousness are left as lines of dialogue and never really given their due. Instead, the camera is focused on the brutality of this era of Rome and the debauchery of its rulers and the complacency of its senate. It speaks of ideals that never really takes a concrete form in any scene. They are all just stories the characters tell each other before they have to fight again in the arena.
It’s the fight scenes that director Ridley Scott really takes his time to put together. The siege of Numidia has a rhythm and an imagery that’s just enjoyable to watch on the big screen. It’s the epic, historical war scenes that can ignite the imaginations of those who love these big spectacles of violence. And then he pares it down in the arena but since he’s already done that in the first movie, he spices things up this time with a gladiator riding a rhinoceros and a naval battle, which is recorded fact. Yes, they used to fill the Coliseum with water and reenact naval battles for entertainment. Of course, Scott had to put it here.
Funnily enough, I found no lasting joy in any of it. This is a world that is suffering from imperial forces the way Numidia suffered at the start of ‘Gladiator II.’ This a world that is rife with war and people dying for some stupid notion of other governments and to see it on screen in this manner, regardless of any sort of historical authenticity felt very strange to me, a person living in a developing country whose nation is constantly in the crossfires of larger countries own ambitions. The film talks about the “dream of Rome” that is supposed to be a beacon of civility and a way forward but not at all cognizant that this is the same rhetoric that the United States have used to attack Middle Eastern states in the name of world order. The emperor twins became an obvious symbolism of the decadent reign of that countries former president, who is returning to the seat of power and the film is a call to bring him down. It’s hard to find empathy with the big concepts the film tries to juggle, especially when it seems more inclined to find joy in the brutality of the film’s title.
It doesn’t help that Hanno is not the most interesting of characters. Even with Paul Mescal at the helm, Hanno is written without any warmth or charm. After his wife dies, he embraces any chance at death (so he can be with her) but also revels in the violence to come because he’s promised by Macrinus that he’ll get a chance to go toe-to-toe with Acacius if he does well. That’s all there is to his character and it’s kind of hard to latch on to, especially when Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and Acacius (Pedro Pascal) are talking about reinvigorating Rome’s classical ideals. When the film does try to redeem him by the third act, the script of David Scarpa has spent no time in preparing him for that shift. He has one moment with Acacius and then he dramatically becomes Lucius just like that.
The only character that’s actually fun to watch is Denzel Washington’s Macrinus and Denzel obviously was having a lot of fun with him too. Washington plays the full range of Macrinus’ character, manipulating senators and even the emperor twins, luring Hanno into a partnership, and reveling in the character’s bisexuality; every move Washington does is fun to watch. And when he talks about why he wants Rome to fall, it actually makes more sense than any of the sanctimonious allegories the film makes with America’s own ideas of itself.
Sure, there are big fight scenes (not all of the same consistency) but some of the CGI effects are distracting (especially the sharks) while any attempt at making a rallying cry for “courage and honour” feels shallow or empty. This film feels like it came out ten years too late.
My Rating:
Gladiator II is now in cinemas! Check showtimes and buy your tickets here.
