It’s been 16 years since the death of Maximus Decimus Meridius and over two decades since the death of Marcus Aurelius and his dream of the Roman Empire. Two brother emperors sit on the throne now, each more unhinged than the other, and the people—who are seen mainly as a faceless, bloodthirsty mob that must be held back at arrow point—both adore their crumbling Empire and wish it would crumble faster. The Senate is mostly incompetent, and one man with righteous hatred in his heart looks to tear it apart from the inside. And on the Empire’s borders, which continue to expand, now into Africa, next toward India, is endless warfare and conquest while Romans starve. To quote Yeats, “The center will not hold.”

Written by David Scarpa and with director Ridley Scott back at the helm, Gladiator II—annoyingly stylized as G L A D II A T O R in the movie’s opening credits—is politics 101. I’m sure many viewers will say to themselves, “Huh, it’s just like today!” while watching, but glean little else about what that revelation means. I sometimes wonder what the point of an analogy is if all it is is an analogy.

But that issue might lie in the construction of Gladiator II, which is epic movie 101. There are wars and battles. A man, Hanno (Paul Mescal), is taken in combat. He appears to be more than meets the eye and will prove so by the movie’s third act. Then there’s a brilliant military general, Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), who turns out to be a piss-poor insurrectionist; a politician, Macrinus (Denzel Washington), who plays the game better than anyone else but should have spent more time practicing his sword work; and a captured woman, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), who is asked to do little more than be someone’s daughter, wife, and mother.

Frankly, it’s all pretty thin, but it is entertaining. Clocking in at 148 minutes, Gladiator II scoots by with energy, even if it is free from surprises. That’s not nothing, considering the number of movies with significantly shorter runtimes that feel interminable.

I will grant Scott the lion’s share of credit for that. Though he has crafted some of the most beloved movies of the modern era, he also has his fair share of duds and misfires. But in almost all, he has made the act of movie watching an enjoyable one—even if you forget just about everything a week after watching it. I suspect that will be the case here.

Gladiator II (2024)
Directed by Ridley Scott
Screenplay by David Scarpa
Story by Peter Craig, David Scarpa
Based on characters created by David Franzoni
Produced by Lucy Fisher, David Franzoni, Michael Pruss, Ridley Scott, Douglas Wick
Starring: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Derek Jacobi
Paramount Pictures, Rated R, Running time 148 minutes, Opens Nov. 22, 2024

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