The year is 2000. English filmmaker, Ridley Scott, has just produced one of the greatest pieces of modern-day cinema with his work on the masterpiece forever known as 'Gladiator'. Russell Crowe has become one of the hottest prospects within the industry after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor, and after several theories that the year would end upon the commencement of the year 2000, we are still going strong.
Now fast forward 24 years later, and movie-loving audiences everywhere are plummeted right back into the heart of the colosseum to return to the action-packed and toga-wearing environment we known as 'Gladiator'.
But this time with a '2' at the end, because no one could honestly think of a better title.
An audience member wouldn't need a magnifying glass to spot the similarities between this film and it's 24-year-old predecessor, given there are so many of them and wear their heart on their sleeve. But it must be noted that the intense number of similarities between these two storylines does leave audience members begging for something more upon the conclusion of this film.
It could be theorised that Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator II' is the cinematic version of borrowing your friend's homework but changing a few of the answers so it doesn't seem too obvious that you have cut corners. But in this scenario, Ridley Scott is stealing from the much more inexperienced, but much sharper 63-year-old version of himself.
Whilst there are a slightly off-putting amount of similarities between these two films in regards to their themes, plots and character motives, there are also a healthy amount of additions to this film that deem it as a worthy successor.
One of these redeeming factors being the impressive and very well carefully selected lineup of actors we see on screen. A bulky and english-tongued Paul Mescal does a solid job at attempting to wear the boots once worn by Russell Crowe as our headlining Gladiator. And spirited additions such as Joseph Quinn and Pedro Pascal serve up enticing characters that constantly leave you wanting more. Almost to the point where they deserve their own spin-off's. But that probably won't happen.
As you can probably expect, Denzel Washington's portrayal of Marcus Opellius Macrinus perfectly balances on the line between entertaining to watch and just outright wicked. Watching the character manoeuvre his way towards the summit of the Roman hierarchy in this film is both clever as well as entertaining to see play out. And who better to portray such a sinister role than Mr Washington himself?
Another route in which Ridley took it upon himself in an attempt to raise the bar for this film is through the usage of intensified fight sequences. Of course, if a movie is called 'Gladiator', it has to have impressive fight scenes, and thanks to the growth of computer generated imagery in recent years and some more than impressive production design, the film certainly delivers in that area.
As well as seeing our Gladiator fight for survival amongst other men desperate to stay alive, we see Paul Mescal's Lucius come toe-to-toe with the likes of some weird monkey/leopard hybrids and a 20-foot tall Rhinoceros, as well as face off against other Gladiators in the heart of a water-filled colosseum.
Whilst there are a blatantly obvious amount of similarities between these two films in regards to the storyline and character motives, it is a pleasant treat to be brought back to the world of 'Gladiator' that we all witnessed in the year 2000.
And all though most film-lovers can walk out of the cinema satisfied and deem this film a worthy successor to a modern-day masterpiece, they simply must ask themselves:
'Was this film entirely necessary?'
PrimeTime Films Score: B
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