'Gladiator 2': Will you be entertained?
Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal) picks up his father's vengeful sword in the Paramount Pictures release 'Gladiator II.' (Courtesy photo | Aidan Monaghan | Paramount Pictures)
"Gladiator 2" may be the biggest disappointment of the year.
Following the death of Maximus from the first "Gladiator" movie, Lucius (Paul Mescal), now a fully grown man, fights for his freedom after losing his home and wife to invaders from Rome. The attack was lead by Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), and Lucius swears revenge on him and the emperors who gave the order.
This movie has an amazing set up, only to be bogged down by boring dialogue and a story that retreads so many of the first film's steps that you could swear it was a remake.
Everyone brings their A-game in terms of acting, which is great. Highlights in the sea of great performances included Mescal's ability to embody the idea of being the son of Maximus (played 24 years ago by Russell Crowe), and Denzel Washington's manipulative Macrinus.
They were both great in their roles. It was great to see how their plot threads unfolded and how they were sewn together by the end.
Unfortunately, a lot of the film feels like it's going through the motions of a legacy sequel and not trying to create a new, exciting story. Instead they followed suit with what worked before (a Best Picture Oscar should tell us something) with somewhat better visual effects.
Some of the scenes, mostly the Colosseum stuff, look great; meanwhile there are a couple scenes where the CGI could've been better.
The story had no real flavor. The movie felt artificial in a way where it only exists to make money. I'm not sure why Ridley Scott felt the need to return to the franchise, as I feel he said what he needed to with the first. The movie drags for several sections, and it almost put me to sleep.
Overall "Gladiator II" is a 6/10. If you're a fan of the franchise, then I suggest you watch it on digital because of the repeated story,-- but it's still worth it for some of the battle sequences.
I guess you could say I was "entertained" enough by this rerun of a film.
Reviewer Carter Salley is a junior majoring in Media Arts. He is the co-host of Central Michigan Life's pop culture podcast "Raving Geeks."
