"It is by far the best commercial film of the year": the BBC’s review of the Gladiator sequel

Paul Mescal is the “fascinating center” of the long-awaited sequel to Gladiator by Ridley Scott, which balances emotional drama and social issues with an all-out action spectacle.

How can you not love a movie that has swords, sandals, sharks in the flooded Roman Coliseum, Denzel Washington in flowing robes, and Paul Mescal biting a baboon?

There’s a lot more to it, both serious and over-the-top, in the exciting and fun sequel to Gladiator by Ridley Scott – the original that won the Oscar for best film almost a quarter of a century ago.

Full of spectacle and spectacular performances, “Gladiator II” is by far the best commercial film of the year.

Mescal, a counterintuitive choice given his roles as sensitive characters in Normal People and Aftersunis the fascinating center of the film, holding it together with the same power and magnetism that Russell Crowe brought to the original.

The sequel has a less perfect balance of excitement and action than the first, with beheadings and sword fights that, while never overwhelming the characters, come pretty close.

Warning: This note includes plot spoilers for “Gladiator II.”

Comparisons are not free, because “Gladiator II” is full of echoes of the original, in which Crowe’s gladiator, Maximus, and the vile Caesar, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), fought to the death in the Colosseum.

Lucius, Maximus’s son with Commodus’s sister Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, who returns to that role in the sequel), was then a young boy sent away from Rome for his own safety.

Fifteen years later he is played by Mescal, more muscular than usual, but fortunately not inflated to the cartoonish proportions of a Marvel character.

Lucius has become a man in Numidia, North Africa, and soon goes to war against the invading Romans.

Scott has absolute control of the action scenes and shows it with an extravagant opening battle.

The Numidians launch fireballs at approaching Roman ships, Roman arrows fly towards the Numidian battlements, Lucius’s warrior wife is killed and he is captured and sent to Rome, swearing revenge against the empire’s general Acacius (Pedro Pascal). ).

The Rome he returns to is more colorful and sinister than ever. Now there are two decadent emperors, twins who rule together without regard for the people, eerie visions in pale makeup and heavy eyeliner.

Joseph Quinn is especially chilling, calm, intense and fearsome as Geta, the smarter and therefore more dangerous of the two.

Fred Hechinger is the wild-eyed, out-of-control Caracella, a Fredo to Geta’s Michael Corleone.

Denzel Washington plays the enigmatic Macrinus, a wealthy businessman and gladiator owner who buys Lucius.

With jewel rings on each finger and gold chains around his neck, Washington approaches the role with absolute enthusiasm and over-the-top delivery as Macrinus plots for power.

But sometimes he dials down the performance enough to reveal the cunning beneath that brash personality.

Pascal fans may be disappointed with his relatively minor role and subdued performance. It doesn’t have much impact, even though it turns out that Acacius is married to Lucilla and shares her desire to depose the insane, bloodthirsty emperors.

In the big action scenes in the arena, Scott gives it his all. A Roman enters riding a rhinoceros. The editing is kinetic as tigers and baboons are unleashed on Lucius and the other gladiators, who are called barbarians.

Lucius is so fierce that he bites a baboon’s hairy arm. Up close, those baboons are noticeably fake, a weak point in the generally bland special effects.

Some distant backgrounds also look completely computer-generated, but Scott stages the action with enough volatility to overcome those minor glitches.

While his recent “Napoleon” (2023) was big and slow, and House of Gucci (2021) A ridiculous disaster, “Gladiator II” is masterfully paced by Scott’s best films, including the classics Alien (1979) and blade runner (1982).

In the smaller-scale episodes, Scott knows when to give Mescal the close-ups that allow him to shine, exuding Lucius’ determination and anger.

That’s especially true in his challenging conversations with Macrinus, who doesn’t yet know that Lucius is the heir to the empire, but wonders why this gladiator can quote Virgil.

Mescal’s intelligent performance elevates the film beyond its violent combat.

And some of the violence is emotional.

Most viewers will know beforehand, as the film’s trailer reveals, that Lucius is the son of Maximus, so we’re way ahead of most of the characters.

But one of the most stimulating episodes occurs when Lucilla recognizes the gladiator as her son and visits him in his cell, in an encounter that defies our easy expectations.

Yet beneath its crowd-pleasing veneer, the film’s theme of political power, of who wields it and how, is strong and purposeful, though Scott cautiously weaves it into the colorful spectacle.

When The New York Times Asked if he saw a connection between his Roman Empire and today’s political world, Scott responded bluntly, “Yes. If we don’t see it, we get worse,” adding, “I try to keep that at the forefront.” in the film, pointing out some of Lucius’ questions about what Rome values.

“Is this how Rome treats its heroes?” Lucius shouts from the arena when one of them dies.

That social theme was evident in the first “Gladiator,” where civic-minded Senator Gracchus (Derek Jacobi, who returns briefly in the sequel) warns against underestimating the superficiality of the crowd, who are easily placated with bread and circus.

“He will bring them death and they will love him for it”says of Commodus, which offers nothing more than the distraction of games.

In “Gladiator II”, Lucilla says: “The people are tired of the madness, the tyranny.”

Which of them is right is the open question in the sequel, as Lucius talks about his grandfather’s dream of a Roman Republic and asks the citizens: “Do we dare to rebuild that dream together?”

If we’re lucky, Scott may have an answer. He told The Hollywood Reporter who has an idea for “Gladiator III” inspired by “The Godfather II.” From his lips to the ears of the Roman gods.

Gladiator II opens in Latin American theaters on November 14.

*This review was originally published in English on BBC Culture. you find it here.

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