Gladiator II, Ridley Scott Returns to the Colosseum

The Romans built some astounding aqueducts, but nobody cares. We’re just interested in the bloodsport of the Colosseum and the hedonism of their bacchanals. Viewers should be happy to hear Ridley Scott’s sequel to his Oscar-winning Gladiator is an aqueduct-free zone, but it has plenty of the other stuff. Politically, Rome has gone from bad to worse, but it retains its military might. However, an enslaved warrior like Lucius could prove Rome’s downfall in Scott’s Gladiator II, which opens Friday pretty much everywhere.

Marcus Acacius is a loyal general of Rome, so he conquers the North African kingdom of Numidia as his twin Emperors ordered, even though the carnage sickens him. Of course, the captured Lucius cannot see his inner turmoil, just his commanding presence, so he vows vengeance against Acacius as his proxy for the Roman Empire.

Macrinus happily promises Lucius the opportunity for payback sometime in the future. The former slave turned powerbroker recognizes the value of Lucius’s anger as the star attraction of his stable of gladiators. He also has his own reasons for wishing misfortune on Acacius.

As fate would have it, Acacius is the current lover of Lucilla, the daughter of the late Marcus Aurelius, Rome’s last decent emperor. Her former lover, Maximus Decimus Meridius (a.k.a. Russell Crowe) sacrificed himself to protect her son Lucius Verus from her brother, the tyrannical Emperor Commodus. Of course, as soon as Lucilla sees Macrinus’s Lucius, she knows he is her Lucius.

As bad as Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) was, the mad co-emperors Geta and Caracalla are even worse. Rome would be much better off if Acacius, Lucilla, and distinguished elder statesmen like Senator Gracchus (Derek Jacobi, the only other holdover from the first film) plot a successful revolt, but Macrinus conspires against them for his own perverse reasons, using Lucius as a pawn.

Thanks to Connie Nielsen’s return as Lucilla, Gladiator II should satisfy fans of the original film, by fulfilling the destiny of the child she gave up so much to protect. Ironically, those who have not seen the first film recently, might instead be struck by the similarities to Peacock’s Those About to Die. Both feature social climbers using their control of a gladiator faction to gain the trust of unhinged emperors, but in the streaming series, viewers are expected to root for the roguish Tanax, while Macrinus is flamboyantly but irredeemably villainous. (Coincidently, both productions also flood the Colosseum, forcing the gladiators to face off against sharks in special naval-themed spectacles.)

Frankly, Paul Mescal does a nice job filling Crowe’s sandals, but the real stars of Gladiator II are Nielsen and Denzel Washington as Lady Lucilla and devious Macrinus. She provides the apostolic connection to the first film, while conveying the classically tragic dimensions to her maternal woe, whereas Washington is just fun to watch.

Technically, this is not his first bad guy role, but there was a degree of ambiguity to his Oscar-winning Training Day role. Washington won two Academy Awards, earned another nomination playing Shakespeare, and single-handedly made The Equalizer a blockbuster action franchise. He has nothing left to prove, but he digs into Macrinus’s skullduggery like it is the breakout role he waited his whole career for.

Eventually, Washington entirely hijacks the film, but most viewers will be absolutely fine with that. Gladiator II is also blessed with colorful supporting turns from Lior Raz as Viggo, Macrinus’s brutal trainer, Alexander Karim as Ravi, a freed gladiator who now works as a Colosseum doctor, and Peter Mensah as Jubartha, Lucius’s Numidian commander. However, Pedro Pascal is a weak, underwhelming presence as Acacius, which makes it hard to fathom the loyalty he supposedly inspires.

Still, Mescal convincingly hacks and slashes, while Washington chews the scenery with glee. Throughout it all, Scott keeps finding ways to go bigger, showcasing the imposing grandeur of Rome and over-the-top spectacle of the arena. Consequently, it is hard to imagine anyone walking away disappointed, unless they were expecting I, Claudius. Recommended for old school sword-and-sandal fans, Gladiator II opens this Friday (11/22) someplace near you.