Gladiator II - Review

Rating: 4 out of 5

RIDLEY Scott once more underlines his credentials as undisputed emperor of epic cinema with his return to the Roman empire of Gladiator.

Arriving almost a quarter of a century after the original (which won five Oscars), the sequel has undergone many re-writes and several different forms (including a Russell Crowe based idea, scripted by Nick Cave, that found Maximus emerging from the Afterlife to embark on a time-travelling journey), yet finally arrives in swaggering style to find a more logical connecting tissue to the events of the first film.

This takes the form of a young fighter named Lucius (Paul Mescal), the long-forgotten son of Maximus, sent into hiding as a child for his own safety by his mother, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), yet inadvertently brought back to Rome some 16 years later by the all-conquering Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), who captures him during another bloody campaign on behalf of current rulers, the tyrannical brother emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn).

Lucius must survive and win favour as a gladiator, just like his father, while vowing revenge on Acacius for the death of his wife in battle - unaware that Acacius is on a path to restoring the dream and glory of Rome (as envisaged by Richard Harris' ill-fated Marcus Aurelius in the original), or that his current owner and trainer, Macrinus (Denzel Washington), has his own designs on seizing power for himself.

The ensuing power struggles involve plenty of back-stabbing and betrayal, thereby offering its cast - most notably Washington - plenty to sink their teeth into. Yet they play second fiddle to the spectacle of the Coliseum itself, which is where Scott really throws everything at the screen.

The veteran filmmaker ups the ante considerably on the first film by having the combat sequences here go bigger, bolder and wilder. Where the first film's opening battle took place in a forest, here we have fleets of Roman invaders ploughing into the brick and mortar of a fortified town. The ensuing pyrotechnics are grander too - with full-on explosions tearing through galleys and blasting apart buildings, amid the usual hail of arrows and flashes of blood-soaked blades.

From then on, we have over-sized [and extremely irritated] CGI apes providing an early test of Lucius' metal, followed by a giant CGI rhino wreaking horny damage, and then the eye-popping spectacle of a Coliseum filled with water and CGI sharks, while two ships go head-to-head for the entertainment of a frenzied crowd.

Scott has openly admitted to playing fast and loose with historical accuracy, so it's best to go in without expecting too much realism. Yet while certainly 'out there' in terms of just how overblown the spectacle becomes, it's perhaps most surprising to find that the director is merely stretching some ideas he has researched from history.

Most notably, there is evidence to suggest that the Coliseum was flooded for entertainment at times, and that a sea battle was recreated, complete with the use of some animals on occasion. While the tyrannical emperors overseeing the debauched spectacles at play are loosely based on the real-life pair who ruled initially alongside their father, Emperor Septimius Severus, during the same time period in which the film is set.

The heightened tyranny on display in the film merely adds to the overall sense of extravagance - while giving extra impetus to audiences to go see it in all of its visceral glory on the biggest screens possible.

And this is, after all, where a filmmaker of Scott's visual pedigree really comes into his own. Gladiator II delivers on the epic in the grandest style possible. It's often barnstorming in its visual achievement - as liable to leave audiences salivating at the barbarity on display as the crowds of Rome themselves.

If this feels exploitative - then maybe that's the point. The film sometimes feels like its revelling in its excess, even when having some of its characters push back against it. But is Scott not also, perhaps, holding a mirror up to modern times and contemporary tyrants, of which there now appear to be so many?

By doing this, he also affords his cast plenty to work with, if not perhaps affording them the time that all deserve. Pascal's Acacius is one such victim, even though he acquits himself really well in the scenes he does have to work with. 

But I wouldn't be surprised to find a director's cut that gives him a lot more to do (and there is rumoured to be at least another hour's worth of footage).

Of the other main performers, Mescal more than capably fills the sandals vacated by Russell Crowe, emerging as perhaps a more thoughtful and humble hero - yet someone who is still driven by rage. He is an enigmatic and inspiring presence.

Nielsen is great, too, as Lucilla, stripped of the power she had in the first film, yet still managing to bring grace and courage to a world that is largely driven by testosterone and the whims of men. And Hechinger and Quinn are suitably maniacal as the dual emperors, childish and petulant, driven by lust in all forms (sexual and bloody), yet unaware of the machinations of power that will ultimately decide their fates.

But it is Washington who leaves the biggest impression - his scenery chewing Macrinus a formidable opponent for anyone in his path. The actor revisits the larger than life style of his Training Day performance, going large and loving it, to the delight of all who bear witness.

Gladiator II therefore stands as a more than worthy successor to Scott's game-changing original: a towering success that offers entertainment and spectacle like no other director can provide. Its achievement will echo in cinematic eternity.