Wyatt Davis
Staff Writer
Gladiator II is the sequel to 2000’s Gladiator. Ridley Scott returns from the original movie as the director of the second film, and stars Paul Mescal as the main character, Lucius. Alongside Mescal are many notable actors such as Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal. However, Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe, who starred in the original film, do not appear in the sequel.
The film is beautiful visually. The setting of Ancient Rome and its beautiful scenery are a large reason as to why I would recommend this film to history buffs and avid movie watchers alike. The cinematography is able to capture the way that the setting likely seemed larger than life during the period of its events.
The writers cohesively continue the plot of the original film, but at times rely too heavily on the previous film for context and story building. The movie often cuts to flashbacks of Crowe’s character from the original film, which left me confused in certain moments as someone who was only vaguely familiar with the first movie.
Nevertheless, Paul Mescal delivers a solid performance in his role as the main character. Denzel is also up to par with his usual greatness in his performance of his character, Severus. I did feel that many of the other characters were forgettable, but I also did not come into this movie expecting to be deeply moved. I expected exciting action, which is what I got.
Additionally, the score of the film comes from Hans Zimmer, who is the paramount of composers producing music for action films. Zimmer does what he does, and the music heavily adds to the excitement of the film.
I felt that Gladiator was a visually beautiful movie and that the constant fighting and action was engaging. Unfortunately, I can understand why someone who is well versed in film may find that this film lacks sophistication in its characters and writing. I recommend watching this film if you loved the original or if you are a fan of action films and don’t mind a shallower plot.
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