By Archie Fenn
Published Nov 11, 2024
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See AlsoGladiator | Rotten TomatoesGladiator - Movie ReviewsGladiator II First Reviews: The Grand Spectacle of Action and Intrigue You're Hoping ForSo gut wie das Oscar-Original? Die ersten Kritiken zu "Gladiator 2" sind da! Gladiator II might be one of the most hyped movies of the year. 25 years in the making, fans are desperate to return to the Colosseum, this time with an older Lucius (Paul Mescal) as he does battle against the malicious Emperors. During the press tour, some critics shared early reactions praising the new movie, with some even calling it as good as – if not better than – the original. Even Paul Mescal's performance earned Denzel Washington's seal of approval. But the reviews have finally been released online, and it's time to find out if we'll be entertained, or if Gladiator II will get the thumbs down.
Gladiator II currently sits at 84% on Rotten Tomatoes with 44 reviews submitted to the aggregate site. Almost every positive review promises that Gladiator II delivers on the action, and features incredible performances from the entire cast. MovieWeb's own Julian Roman scored the film a 4/5, saying, "Ridley Scott returns to bloody greatness with an ass-kicking sword and sandals sequel that will surely slay the winter box office." In his review, Roman hailed the film as Oscar-worthy, continuing:
"Gladiator II recaptures the thrilling epic violence, Machiavellian ruthlessness, and superb lead performances that made the original a Best Picture winner."
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Graeme Gutteman of Screen Rant had similarly kind things to say about the film. However, they noted that the legacy sequel has a large shadow looming over it from the timelessness of the original Gladiator. They wrote:
"Gladiator II is one of 2024's best blockbusters, but at times, it falters under the pressure of the standards set by its predecessor."
Boyd Hilton of Empire Magazine also noted the expectations of the original, but said that Gladiator II managed to transform itself from an unoriginal idea, into a very entertaining movie. Their review read, "What could have been a ponderous, predictable sequel to a much-loved Oscar-winner instead turns out to be a fun romp." It's hard to separate the new movie from the beloved Gladiator, but Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent says you should, as Gladiator II works best without any expectations hailing from the original. She wrote:
"At times, Gladiator II is pure camp. To insist that it shouldn’t be is to hold on too tightly to the dour expectations of the 21st-century blockbuster. It has a modern outlook but provides a throwback, too, to the genre’s florid history."
Not Everyone Was Entertained by Gladiator II
Unfortunately, Gladiator II didn't score the perfect 100% fans were hoping. This partly comes from critics who struggled with the need for a sequel, 24 years after such a groundbreaking movie was released. Alison Willmore of Vulture put it best, saying, "The thrill of the action sequences just underscores the hollowness of the rest of the enterprise. Sure, not all of us spend a lot of time thinking about the Roman Empire, but those who do deserve better than this."
While Ridley Scott will always be one of the most lauded filmmakers of our time, his mixed success rate over the last few years has been impossible to ignore. Kevin Maher of The Times called Gladiator II Scott's most disappointing legacy sequel since the panned Prometheus. They wrote:
"Scott’s most disappointing “legacy sequel” since Prometheus. It’s a scattershot effort with half-formed characters (with one exception) and undernourished plotlines that seem to exist only in conversation with the Russell Crowe original."See AlsoGladiator II | Rotten Tomatoes
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4 /5
Gladiator II
R
Action
Drama
Epic
History
Adventure
Gladiator 2 is the follow-up to Ridley Scott's award-winning film Gladiator from 2000. Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta. Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally moved forward.
Release Date November 22, 2024Director Ridley ScottCast Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Derek Jacobi, May Calamawy, Peter Mensah, Matt Lucas, Alexander Karim, Tim McInnerny, Lee Charles, Chidi Ajufo, Alfie Tempest, Riana Duce, Chi Lewis Parry, Paul Candelent, Hadrian Howard, Alexander Simkin, Mikhail Basmadjian, Matthew Charlery-Smith, Maxime Durand, Lior Raz