My basic premise coming into this movie is that there is no reason for it to exist. Gladiator is one of the greatest movies ever made, and the story was all told. There was no need for a sequel, and to me this is clearly a money grab. All of that said, how was the movie itself? Pretty Good. Not great. Certainly not in the caliber of Gladiator, but on its own merits, this was a solid movie.
There were certain aspects of it that were clearly not good. Given that this isn’t a fantasy movie and it’s historically based, I don’t know what the heck those baboon like creatures at the beginning of the movie were supposed to be. And sharks in the Colliseum? I doubt it. The twin emperors were a little over the top, but given what some of the actual Roman emperors like Nero and Caligula were like, not entirely unbelievable.
So, what did the movie excel at. The action and fighting scenes were really good. The set design and costume and all that good stuff that makes the movie look and feel like Ancient Rome were also pretty good. By and large the acting was also top notch. Denzel Washington is awesome in any role he performs and this is no exception. Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal also were quite good. The story was pretty solid. None of these things were as good as the original, but it’s a very watchable movie and you will not be wasting two and a half hours of your life.
