“Gladiator II,” the highly anticipated sequel to the action-drama period piece, is now playing in theaters.
Photo Credit — IMDB
Could you imagine being born in the year 1937 and still working full-time in the current year of 2024? When you look at those numbers and put the math together, it just doesn’t seem really feasible, or does it?
Director Ridley Scott, whose birthday is on November 30, is only a few short years away from turning 90! How do we make these birthdays stop? Believe me, I have been trying to figure that out for the past half decade, dear lord! There is a reason I took down all the mirrors in my home and only use 25-watt bulbs in all my lamps!
After the release and success of “Gladiator II,” which was filmed in Morocco and already raked in $221 Million worldwide, word has already spread that a part three was in fact green-lit. Sounds kind of bonkers since the original Academy Award winning film starring Russell Crowe came out 24 years earlier than this sequel.
When word came out initially about a part two in the works, I must admit my first reaction was — “How hokey!” But, with a stellar filmography as a director behind him including “Thelma & Louise,” “Legend,” “Alien,” “Prometheus,” “All the Money in the World,” “G.I Jane,”Matchstick Men,” “The Martian,” “American Gangster,” “House of Gucci,” “Robin Hood,” “Kingdom of Heaven,” “A Good Year,” “Napoleon,” “Body of Lies,” and of course the original “Gladiator” movie, it is more than fair to say that Ridley Scott is one of the greatest directors in the history of motion picture!
I am going to go out on a limb and say that “Gladiator II” is one of few sequels that may eclipse the original in my eyes. It’s a tough call because of the years in between, but this sequel is far and away the biggest spectacle to be caught on screen in 2024.
The lead actor Paul Mescal, playing Lucius (“The Lost Daughter”), whose face I only briefly recognize, just turned in a star-making performance for the ages. He was mesmerizing to watch as the son of Russell Crowe’s previous character Maximus. The only critique I could render on this impressive adventure epic, on the same scale as “Game of Thrones” or “Lord of the Rings”, is the over the top water scene in the flooded Colosseum . I found this debatable but Scott himself claims that there were in fact flooded Colosseum battles. Did they involve sharks? Well that is unlikely, but it didn’t fall flat even against the visuals in the classic “Jaws.”
Speaking of “Jaws,” I plan on clamping down pretty hard on my Thanksgiving leftovers this week. Just like a bear, I have to put on some winter weight while I enter my cold weather hibernation. I do have to also give props to Denzel Washington, whom I sometimes find overrated, who plays Macrinus. Although not award-worthy, he does give my favorite performance here as an evil leader with ill intent. Sounds familiar.
So as for any of the haters out there spilling their malarkey, don’t buy it, just buy your ticket this upcoming weekend if you haven’t yet and get a gander at this shockingly great period drama.
”Gladiator II,” starring: Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal
Christopher’s “Meow” Score: “9” paws out of 10.
