Gladiator 2 review: Paul Mescal's epic struggles to stir emotion

Gladiator 2 recaptures the grandeur of ancient Rome, echoing the epic scale of the 2000 original. Directed by Ridley Scott, the sequel leans heavily into grand action, however, it lacks the emotional depth that made its predecessor unforgettable.

Set over two decades after Gladiator [2000], the story follows Lucius (Paul Mescal), now called Hanno, who lives as a soldier in Numidia until General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) invades, forcing him back into the Roman Empire. Under Macrinus (Denzel Washington), Lucius re-enters the brutal arena, ultimately driven to challenge young emperors Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn) to fulfil his father Maximus’s vision of a Rome free from slavery.

The word Gladiator evokes emotions and memories of Russell Crowe in the Ridley Scott film. There has been an entire generation of audience that has grown up to love Gladiator and watched it multiple times. Unfortunately, the new film not only fails to match up to the original but also disappoints on multiple fronts.

Here’s the trailer:

The sequel delivers action, gore, and an electrifying score that elevates the viewing experience, but none of this compensates for the lack of emotional resonance. Unlike the original, which skillfully pulled emotional strings, Gladiator 2 fails to evoke a lasting impact. Family reunions and Lucius’s separation from his loved ones lack poignancy, leaving viewers uninvested. The story, while epic in scale, is too predictable and lacks nuance, with a few twists that genuinely surprise you.

When Lucius loses people close to him, one is supposed to feel empathetic towards him, but it hardly stirs any emotions. Perhaps the delay and the writers’ strike in Hollywood are to be blamed, or maybe it is just lazy writing.

The hand-to-hand combat scenes of Gladiator made the film a unique experience in 2000. While the action scenes in Gladiator 2 are good, they don’t add up to the experience people had while watching the Russel Crowe original.

David Scarpa keeps the screenplay more or less linear with flashbacks connecting the dots. The only interesting character in Gladiator 2 perhaps is that of Denzel Washington as Macrinus, who plays to the gallery. He is covet in his tactics and is driving the politics in the narrative. But it isn’t enough. The revelation of Lucius being the Prince of Rome is hardly startling for us or the Roman Empire.

Performances by the cast are great. From Paul to Denzel to Pedro, everyone knows the stakes are high, and they are pitch-perfect with their dialogue delivery and action-packed performances. However, without a strong emotional core, Gladiator 2 can feel like a chore, with its two-and-a-half-hour runtime dragging to feel even longer.

The challenges of making a follow-up to a cult classic film are multiple. While Gladiator 2 has a few moments that work, overall, the inevitable comparisons to the original prevent it from becoming a wholesome new experience.

2.5 out of 5 stars for Gladiator 2.