• Director: Ridley Scott
• Screenplay: David Scarpa
• Cast: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington
• Cinematography: John Mathieson
• Editing: Claire Simpson, Sam Restivo
• Score: Harry Gregson-Williams
• Genre: Epic historical action
• Runtime: 148 minutes

Before I watched the original ‘Gladiator‘ (2000), I had low expectations: 3 hours of Russell Crowe fighting Roman soldiers in an arena. Ugh. I was pleasantly surprised however. The acting from Joaquin Phoenix and Oliver Reed was mesmerising and the political scheming won me over.

I question the need for a sequel – the original’s ending was elegiac. Following a quarter of a century in development hell (including a draft written by Nick Cave which saw Maximus resurrected, made immortal and working at the Pentagon – wtf?!), this follow-up essentially treads the same path plot-wise as its predecessor.

We have our protagonist, Lucius (Paul Mescal), nephew of deceased evil Emperor Commodus (Phoenix) and thus heir to the throne. But he doesn’t know this yet – he’s a nobody, living on the Numidian coast with his wife. After losing the battle against the Roman army at the beginning, Lucius is taken into slavery – and just like his father – must become a gladiator to win his freedom. The ‘strength and honour’ motif and the musings on a glorious vision of Rome are so well-trodden by now, it’s impossible to find fresh meaning within them. Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, reprising her role from the first film), Lucius’ mother, yet again plots with the senate to overthrow the emperors – this time, a Romulus and Remus-type double act, who look as though they’re glam rock rejects.

If you’re going to parrot a storyline, at least ensure the performances are equal in quality too. While Mescal is fortunately a better actor than Russell Crowe, Pedro Pascal’s General Acacius barely makes a dent and Denzel Washington (playing arms dealer Macrinus) has a tenth of the gravitas of the late, great Oliver Reed. Nonetheless, as ever, Ridley Scott’s direction is masterful, the music (riffing on Hans Zimmer’s score from ‘Gladiator 1‘) is beautiful and the mix of politics and well-choreographed fight scenes guarantees a worthwhile watch. Are you not entertained? I’d say I was.

Pay the bathroom a visit beforehand – it’s two and a half hours long, about 20 minutes shy of the previous movie’s runtime.

My rating: 6 / 10