Gladiator II REVIEW: ‘Gladiator II’ Offers Audiences The Bread And Circuses They Crave

In a career defined by sweeping visions of an ancient past and a dystopian future, director Ridley Scott is accustomed to crafting powerfully escapist films. His multiple Oscar-winning sequel, aptly called Gladiator II 2024 Afdah, released more than 20 years later, follows in the same tradition, but without quite the same thematic resonance. But what would be a death sentence in a similar epic turns out to be the film's greatest strength. Eschewing any attempt at great narrative or intellectual depth, Gladiator II proves to be a synthesis of the most evocative and patently entertaining elements of the sandalwood films that inspired it, including its immediate predecessor. Like the ruling class of the depicted era, Gladiator II gives its audience the bread and circuses they crave; nothing more, nothing less. The result is one of Scott's most entertaining films in years, one that feels strengthened by its cheaper, more ridiculous elements, rather than undercut by recent efforts like House of Gucci and Napoleon.

Providing the audience with wild spectacle and delicious performances, they embody the masses that the Roman Republic tried to appease with the Colosseum. The complete lack of depth and inability to analyze a promising concept quickly becomes a minor complaint as we sit back in our seats, preparing to embrace Scott's cheesy, earnest, silly, and surprising tale of revenge.

Gladiator II takes place 20 years after the events of the original and revolves around Lucius (Paul Mescal), the son of Maximus and Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). Lucius lives a simple, humble life with his wife in Numida. After the invasion of the Roman army under General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), his wife dies and he becomes a slave. Lucius decides to follow in his father's footsteps and become a gladiator. He serves Machiavelli's Macrinus (Denzel Washington) and fights against Acacius, who is married to his estranged mother without his knowledge, as well as the young tyrannical emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger).

Gladiator II follows much of the original storyline, in some cases very closely. Still, Scott and screenwriter David Scarpa add enough political intrigue and dramatic character dynamics to keep the story exciting. Though far from complicated, the dual narrative of violent duels and political intrigue creates an immersive experience full of melodrama and moments to pause and reflect. Acacias, the object of Lucius' revenge, is not an evil warmonger, but a puppet of such rulers, deeply tired of eternal conflicts, and above all a man who loves and cares for his wife. Stream this movie on Afdah stream.