The Stream: The plot is an unnecessary retread of the original.

The Big Screen: Denzel, of course, and robes! So many robes!

The Final Bill: A beautiful movie that lost the spirit of the Gladiator.

– S2S: Movie Review
Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: David Scarpa, Peter Craig, David Franzoni
Stars: Connie Nielsen, Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger
Genre: Action, Drama, Adventure
Rating: R for strong bloody violence
Runtime: 2 hours 21 minutes
Production Companies: Paramount Pictures, Scott Free Productions, Red Wagon Films
Platform: Released in theaters November 22, 2024
Notable Trailers: Wolf Man, Den of Thieves: Pantera, Mickey 17, Thunderbolts, Love Hurts, Better Man, Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Welcome back, Streamers! Long time, no stream! This week we were graced with the sequel 20+ years in the making that we never wanted, but somehow we were still excited to see. Yes, it’s the “Sword & Sandals” epic, Gladiator II. Of course, this movie follows the history from the first installment starring Russell Crowe and cast. Here, we have Hanno (Paul Mescal) after his land is conquered by the Roman army led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) under the rule of two lunatic emperors, he is forced to fight in the Colosseum and confront his past. Will his rage be his damnation or his vehicle to freedom? Ancient Roman hijinks ensue.

Well, as we’ve already stated, this movie has been prolonged way too long from the first installment. In fact, they could’ve just made a separate gladiator-themed movie with no connection to the original. However, greedy movie producers need a subject audience to rake in the dollars. Therefore, we get this twenty-plus-year too late installment that is formulaic and the same as the first movie. It’s pretty much the same movie with a shorter runtime, less action, and less character development. That last part is actually pretty sad because as a whole the performances by the actors individually were actually pretty great. I dare to imagine if they had an original story and lines to deliver that might have taken this movie to the next level. Alas, Brute, we dare not speaketh it. Anyway, this movie has no spirit. It’s a gladiator movie that doesn’t feel like it has that Gladiator magic. Gladiator was able to get you to care about Maximus’ life and revere him in a short period of time. In Gladiator II, I could care less about any character in this movie, and why Hanno to begin with?

*Trip interjecting: I can’t let this review go on without adding that Denzel’s performance is the reason this sequel exists. It’s not a subtle performance, and some may say that he’s doing too much; but, Denzel’s “too much” in this role is him understanding the assignment. His line readings, his side glances, his robe-acting is just *chef’s kiss*

Now, everything does look great in this movie. The scenery, the costumes, the makeup all are top notch quality, but the most underwhelming part of the visuals are the action sequences. This movie kind of put the action as an afterthought. There are sequences that don’t make a lot of sense logistically, some characters don’t make logical decisions within the action sequences, and there is a rote-quality that makes the scenes lack that excitement you want from a gladiatorial action sequence. The trailer makes the sequences look epic, but the final product is more non-sensical and perfunctory.

Long story short, Gladiator II is one of those movies that is too-little-too-late. The Gladiator wave ended 20 years ago, but here we are again. The movie itself is a typical “Swords & Sandals” movie that is way too similar to the first installment instead of making itself its own. The only thing that saves this movie is the stellar acting performances by the cast as a whole but particularly, Denzel. Grab a matinee bowl of popcorn and enjoy the spectacle of the Colosseum.