“History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce.” That’s Karl Marx, who was not, of course, talking about Gladiator II. He was talking about real capital-H History, the kind we’re all living in. But like Gladiator II, our era of historical do-overs is rapidly descending into the farcical.
After decades of excellence, director Ridley Scott won his Best Picture Academy Award for Gladiator in 2000. The film also earned A Beautiful Mind star Russell Crowe a Best Actor trophy and made him a household name. Yet since the film ended with Crowe’s character, the unsubtly named Maximus, dying in the Colosseum, the prospects of a sequel were unlikely. But finally, the Hollywood history-repeating machine came calling, and Scott, fresh off telling the story of Napoleon with Gladiator co-star Joaquin Phoenix, strapped on his armor for another bout in the arena.
Like the first, Gladiator II begins with a battle. This time, it’s in the North Africa province of Numidia, where farmer Hanno (Paul Mescal) and his wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen) are called to defend their home against the invading legions of General Acacius (Pedro Pascal). After a spectacular opening sequence, the city falls, and Hanno is thrown into the arena for the first time. His first opponents are baboons, which is actually a thing Romans did. But these are obviously CGI creations, which makes it look like the Geonosis arena scenes in Star Wars: Episode 2 – Attack of the Clones. This is not a serious historical epic, like Kubrick’s Spartacus or Scott’s Napoleon. It’s more like a half-remembered, sword-and-sandals melodrama from the 1950s, like Quo Vadis, which Spartacus was a reaction against.
Naturally, there is a Spartacus joke in Gladiator II, when a slave-master asks the assembled gladiators who fired an arrow at General Acacius, and they all answer, “I did!” Like Spartacus, Hanno is also destined to lead a gladiator rebellion against his masters. But where Kirk Douglas’ gladiator revolutionary is a common slave who organized a civilization-shaking rebellion while in chains, Hanno turns out to be yet another Hollywood chosen one on a standard-issue Hero’s Journey. His real name is Lucius. His father, we eventually learn, was Maximus, and his mother is Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), which makes him the rightful heir of Marcus Aurelius, the last “good” emperor of Rome. Not that the Roman Empire really respected such niceties, as Macrinus (Denzel Washington) points out. Macrinus is a scheming upstart power broker who latches on to Hanno/Lucius as a disruptive force to the rule of co-emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger).
Washington’s gleeful wheelings and dealings, as Macrinus whispers poison into the ears of the emperors, are easily the best thing about Gladiator II. He seems to know exactly the level of camp to bring to the proceedings.
Washington’s greatness brings into great relief Gladiator II’s biggest failure: It lacks Russell Crowe. The original’s script wasn’t that great, either, which seems a chronic problem with Scott (I’m looking at you, Prometheus). But an actor with Crowe’s charisma can make the nonsense go down easier. When he bellowed, “Are you not entertained?” to the Colosseum crowd, Crowe filled up the screen. Paul Mescal, on the other hand, always looks a little lost in the arena. When Macrinus opines that he’s betting on Lucius’ all-consuming rage to help him survive the arena, I roll my eyes. Kirk Douglas’ Spartacus would have made mincemeat of him.
Still, there are pleasures to be had in Gladiator II. Scott still knows how to stage a battle scene, and the sweeping vistas of Rome provide some eye candy. If that’s all you’re looking for, it delivers. Otherwise, you can skip this Roman holiday.
Gladiator II
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