Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
4/4
A terrific continuation of the classic original
Norrin - wrote on 11/29/2024
While Gladiator II is not as good as the near perfect original, this sequel is wildly entertaining, pays perfect homage to the first movie, has some great acting from a first rate cast, and features several off the wall action sequences. Denzel Washington pretty much steals the movie, but Connie Nielsen (from the first movie) and Pedro Pascal both give great performances. As to lead Paul Mescal, while he does not have the gravitas of Russell Crowe, his performance, like the movie itself, gets better as things move along since both take awhile to get their sea legs. Technical credits are all first rate, except for the musical score, which lacks the epic punch of Hans Zimmer's brilliant score for the first movie. Director Ridley Scott at age 88 still knows how to deliver a visually …
Rating of
3/4
Veni, vidi, vici... Once More
Chris Kavan - wrote on 11/28/2024
I always knew that it would be hard for a sequel to top the 2000 original film, but Gladiator II at least comes close, paying honor to the first and landing some killer casting choices. Ridley Scott also benefits from some advances in technology which create some even more epic showdowns in the arena.
Casting does indeed play a big part in what makes this work so well and on top of that list is Denzel Washington whose Macrinus reminds me of another on of his top roles - that of Alonzo in Training Day. Both characters at first appear to be the good guy until an about face shows their true nature. Macrinus, however, is more subtle in his machinations but no less scary as a character. Paul Mescal, one of the "it" Hollywood actors right now, also performs well as the oft-shirtless …
