Russell Crowe was not happy with Ridley Scott making a Gladiator sequel without his main character. However, Scott replaced Crowe with Paul Mescal and made Gladiator II, which will hit the US theaters on November 22. Early reviews are out and the film has a mixed reception, clearly hinting that it fell short of the original film.
Scott’s sequel follows Maximus’ son Lucius as he is brought back to Rome as a slave and enters the Gladiator arena, just like his father. Besides Mescal, the film also features an ensemble cast including Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, and Fred Hechinger. However, even the talented cast couldn’t cover up these glaring issues in the film.
5. Ridley Scott’s Production For Gladiator 2 Falls Short
Ridley Scott‘s Gladiator 2 opens with an intense battle scene reminiscent of its predecessor. As fans expect more such sequences in the entire film, they are disappointed by the chaotic mix of half-cooked ideas and lazy callbacks to the original. The production felt rushed and there were some questionable creative choices.
The Rome set in Gladiator II was nothing like in his previous film. The recreation of the old Roman cities in the film often bordered on absurdity. The CGI sharks introduced at one point in the arena seemed to be placed there just for the sake of the spectacle. It seemed cartoonish and almost undermined the gravity of the narrative. The camerawork was disappointingly uninspired.
However, the most problematic production-wise was the overall tone of the film. While the original had a somber tone of a historical epic, Scott treaded into the campy territory with Gladiator II‘s tonality. It was seen in some of Scott’s recent works including the critical disappointment, Napoleon.
The pace of the production was mentioned during the promotion of the film. Returning actress Connie Nielsen was surprised at the breakneck pace of the film. She shared, “This time around, what would have taken three hours to set up 25 years ago now takes 20 minutes. We could not believe how fast we were moving” (via Variety).
Ever since he replaced Kevin Spacey’s scenes in All the Money in the World with Christopher Plummer’s within days, he has learned the art of speed-filming. However, for Gladiator II, it was also accompanied by a drop in quality. Then, there’s the usual accusation of historical inaccuracy, which comes with Scott’s need to portray grandeur scenes.
4. David Scarpa’s Gladiator 2 Screenplay Seriously Lacks Powerful Lines Like The Original
David Scarpa’s screenplay for Gladiator 2 struggles to live up to the legacy of the original. After leaving the film, fans of the original will yearn for more emotional gravitas and poetic lines. Scarpa rushed the screenplay of this film instead of masterfully weaving a plot, which made fans invested in Maximus’ story in the original.
The plot is riddled with some questionable choices. Lucius being the illegitimate son of Maximus and Lucilla undermines the moral high ground of Russell Crowe’s character, almost ruining his character arc in the original. Scarpa ignored glaring plot holes and cohesive storytelling in his attempt to build the big moments in the film. It also resulted in a significant lack of epic and complex characters.
Scarpa doesn’t do much innovation either in terms of story structure as he follows the original’s structure mostly. There were underlying themes in the 2000 film that made it a cultural milestone but fans will struggle to find the depth and substance in the sequel.
Most problematic of them all, Scarpa fails to deliver memorable lines in the film. Maximus’s line “Are you not entertained?” echoed long after the credits rolled in Gladiator and is still etched in our memory. However, when Lucius delivers a line like “This is about survival. So survive!”, it is shockingly lackluster. It also becomes problematic when fans compare Crowe and Paul Mescal‘s performances in both films.
Scarpa previously collaborated with Scott on Napoleon and All the Money in the World.
3. Harry Gregson-Williams’ Music Fails To Impress
Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard did the music for the original film and won an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score. However, Zimmer decided to skip on the sequel. During an interview with Curzon, Zimmer shared, “I’ve done that world. And I think I did it well.” He added, “I liked the idea of moving on and not getting compared to my own work.”
Zimmer was replaced by Harry Gregson-Williams, who began his career by assisting Zimmer. He is known for some great projects like The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Martian. Gregson-Williams’ music in Gladiator II is unfortunately a major disappointment.
He failed to bring the emotional depth to the film like Zimmer’s music did for the original. The composition felt largely disjointed just like the screenplay of the film. In Gregson-Williams’ defense, the original’s music was a high benchmark to begin with.
2. Denzel Washington’s Macrinus Is A Pleasure To Watch But He Feels Misplaced
Denzel Washington played a former slave Macrinus who earned his freedom. The cunning and ambitious Macrinus plans to overthrow the ruthless twin rulers of Rome and seize power for himself. He uses Paul Mescal’s Lucius as a pawn in his game and trains him to be a gladiator. Washington nails his role as the sly character in the film.
The actor brings his Shakespearian experience to the role and commands the viewer’s attention in every scene that he appears. However, his theatrical chops are lost in a role that feels out of place in the film. Washington’s Macrinus becomes more like a one-dimensional villain due to the shallow storytelling in the film.
Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus in the original movie is still leaps and bounds ahead of Macrinus as a villain, due to his power hunger. Washington’s role needed a better film to support it as does Pedro Pascal‘s villain General Marcus Acacius.
Washington also faced criticism for using his own accent for the role. His character Macrinus was of North African descent and fans expected the actor to at least try and imitate the accent. However, speaking to Empire, Washington explained that he didn’t want to “end up imitating someone and end up with a bad African accent” (via Digital Spy).
1. Paul Mescal Couldn’t Live Up To Russell Crowe’s Legacy
Paul Mescal may have Emmy and Oscar nominations, however, he is no Russell Crowe in the Gladiator sequel. It is a sad truth that Ridley Scott has to live with. The biggest issue of the film was that the story of Lucius was largely borrowed from that of Maximus. Right from the main character’s wife’s death to his motivations as a gladiator, the film did not deviate much from the Crowe storyline.
While the film tried to play it off as a son following in his father’s footsteps, this one misstep also paves the way for critics to compare both performances. With repetitive storylines, Mescal could not make the same emotional impact as Crowe did. Fans were not exactly heartbroken by how Lucius’ life in Rome was upended by Pascal’s Marcus Acacius.
When Crowe says the lines in the original film, there is a gravitas to it that is significantly lacking in Mescal’s monologue. Moreover, Crowe felt like a symbol of resistance in Gladiator while Lucius feels like a mere instrument or weapon in the film. It should also be noted that Mescal’s Lucius would be the better warrior in the arena, thanks to the great fight choreography.
While the character Lucius appears to bear the weight of his history in the film, Mescal also struggles with keeping up with the film’s legacy. Fans may now understand why Russell Crowe didn’t return to a sequel film.
