GLADIATOR 2 (2024)

Why?

Well here we are, answering the question: Why was this film made? And why is it titled Gladiator 2? Alas, it is the official sequel to one of the most universally loved films of all time. A film that exuded so much confidence it boastfully roared at its audience: “Are you not entertained?” Needless to say, I was hopeful for this new chapter, though skeptical that it could add any real value to an already complete and faultless story that stands the test of time. Yet what they came up with, what they spent millions making and marketing was…the one option I never anticipated…THE EXACT SAME STORY!! That’s right, it’s a bloated, lesser-than version that, even with a shorter runtime than the original, drags on endlessly with no gut-wrenching social commentary and no cathartic payoff. Reminds me of Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, where another perfect film gets a sequel with a near identical plot, only with more characters and a more complicated story that leaves you asking…why? Credit to Paul Mescal, he is a strong lead, however he is no Russell Crowe. There are some interesting battle ideas put forth in the coliseum, though they are hindered, in my opinion, by the CGI. Denzel Washington is having a grand time, but he’s out of place, acting in a completely different century, and a slew of new characters end up dead before we can even care (in fact, cut out the the first 15 minutes entirely). So, if tweaked and renamed this movie may have been entertaining, but as it is, it does not fill Gladiator‘s sandals.

WATCH OR NOT: NOT

Additional musings: Speaking of tweaks, cut out Pedro Pascal entirely, he had nothing to work with here, his arc simply deflates and slowed down the little momentum the film had going.