After more than two decades, the sequel to Gladiator is finally hitting theaters. Picking up in almost an equal amount of time in the story, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) is the only character from the original cast that is in the story. Since the death of her father and Maximus, Rome is now being controlled by twins Emperor Geta and Emperor Caracalla who thrive on power and brutality.
As the Emperors continue to build the Roman Empire through colonization and war, there is a growing slave population that is brought to the city for work and for fighting in the Coliseum. During one of the raids, a new contender is brought to Rome, his only goal is his freedom and vengeance for the death of his wife. His fighting methods are unlike any others, and soon finds himself leading groups of gladiators in the arena.
As with any movie with fighting and battles at the core of it, audiences can expect bloody violence. But there are a few scenes that were a bit more than you might expect. The animals involved in the scene appear to be CGI for the most part, so any harm that comes to them is simulated. But the stunt acting and fighting throughout the games get extreme and gory, and may be a bit much for some viewers.
For what it is, Gladiator II has a lot of fun parts, some that are quite predictable, and a lot of parts that you won’t see coming. While they used to do a lot of things in the Coleuseum including flooding it to simulate naval battles of the past and bringing in exotic animals – are we sure that they brought in sharks? There are parts of the movie that are extreme, not just in the violence but more about the opulence and the extravagance the Roman upper class was living in. Sure, there is some historical context for this, but adding a dash of Hollywood to it brings it up to another level.
The movie shows the rise and fall of empires. It shows how the sycophantic supporters of corrupt rulers can easily manipulate a failing system and what it can do to the city and society overall. Maybe if we weren’t in such a tumultuous part of history, it would be harder to draw parallels with some things in modern politics. But with a lot more blatant killing and corruption out on the public display.
Gladiator II, no doubt, will make fans of the original movie happy even though the story has a bit of a departure from the messaging in the first film. The first focuses more on ending violence, and the sequel, well, it’s more about how extreme we can make the violence and the kills – almost up until the end credits. In between the blood spilling, however, we have a decent story of love, family, and legacy. And if you can stomach the gore on the screen – one you may actually enjoy.
Gladiator II is in theaters everywhere this weekend.
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About Gladiator II
From legendary director Ridley Scott, Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.