Not just "these days". When you look at Home Alone II, it is exactly the same film as the first one. And yet it still managed to make a shed-tonne of money, people loved it, and I do like it too to this very day.
Not just "these days". When you look at Home Alone II, it is exactly the same film as the first one. And yet it still managed to make a shed-tonne of money, people loved it, and I do like it too to this very day.
@@subraxasA quiet Place 2: They literally gave us the SAME movie TWICE! The 2nd may as well have been an alternate cut of the first movie, stitched together from deleted scenes. And I just didn't bother with the 3rd at all but, I wouldn't have been surprised if it was yet another retread.
Oh look, what a surprise!! Ridley Scott released an unnecessary sequel that's really just a pointless rehash of the previous movie everybody liked, but that's missing the emotional punch of the original... ... AGAIN. Who's ready for Titanic 2 ?!!!
I searched Oliver's channel for a Gladiator retrospective and was so disappointed he hadn't made one. Oliver, we like your retrospectives, not so much the bloated commentary...hint hints...
I’ll be honest, I’m sick of movies being shot digitally these days. I yearn for 35mm and practical sets and effects. Even when there are practical effects, costumes, makeup, etc. it just looks as fake as the CGI when shot digitally.
Kinda reminds me when Alien Romulus came out and they said don’t compare it to the other Alien movies because it’s its own movie. Yet it takes familiar scenes and quotes from both Alien and Aliens.
Its a worthless memberberries film. We never needed any new alien films. I wanted to see proper followup to prometheus that doesnt focus on xenomorphs at all.
It's like "Braveheart 2" or "Titanic 2", it just sounds weird. They'd have probably been better off just calling it "Gladiator: Strength & Honor" or something.
Ridley deciding to shoot 'Gladiator 2' on a digital camera for the sake of convenience gives it that actors-doing-cosplay look that makes it look like a Netflix streaming release compared to the gorgeous cinematic visual quality of kodak and eastman 35mm used for the first one where it actually looks like a professional studio movie from the big 5. The other letdown is that you don't really end up caring about any of the characters so you're not that emotionally engaged in the story unfortunately. Crowe actually looks like a regal war veteran / Roman general rather than a guy you would see down at your local gym and his performance manages to provoke you emotionally. The first 2 minute entrance into the colosseum before Maximus instructs the gladiators to all stick together just for sheer thrill-factor, soundtrack, tension building, visual quality..etc is far better than the entirety of Gladiator 2 (5.5). Ridley is great when he has a good script to work with (The Last Duel / The Martian) but his directorial style can't elevate a lacklustre script in the same way that someone like Spielberg can.
The TEXTURE of the first is so visceral. Sweat, sand, heat, blood, dust. You can almost taste it. It gives the film a density and immersion to a world that second can only half heartedly attempt trace around.
@@TheRubberStudiosASMR Agreed, I don't mind digital for still photography, even for documentaries (Planet Earth, Free Solo) and I can also totally accept it for sci-fi movies as it doesn't seem to matter so much with the flat and clinical nature of digital somehow not being as jarring for a futuristic setting (Oblivion, Tron Legacy, Riddick) but for historical dramas or westerns it just looks like someone's shooting it on a digicam.............because they are! Lol
nonsense. this film is gorgeous - for once in a modern mega-budget blockbuster you can actually see the money on screen. comparing it to netflix is just delusional.
Never underestimate Ridley Scott's abilities to completely screw up one of his legacy movies with a completely pointless and crappy sequel many years after the original.
Gladiator(2000) has one of the most awesome/wholesome depictions of Rome ever. I like the scene where Cicero is looking for Lucilla and he sees the play being on for the Roman kids. It’s adorable and likable and it’s good foreshadowing for the final duel between Maximus and Commodus.
Yeah same, I will always be rewatching the original movie even more for the rest of my life, just like I will always be rewatching the trilogy (original 3 movies) of Indiana Jones for the rest of my life until I die
As a history fan, I hope one day realistic historical/war epics come back. Saving Private Ryan, Master and Commander, Tora Tora Tora...Historical accuracy, please. ..
Its interesting what Oliver says about the films feels and looks smaller than the original. With all of the cgi tools available today the films just get worse and less cinematic.
It's all shot in digital whereas G1 was shot using Kodak 35mm film. Digital makes everything look, surprisingly, more digital and never has the same cinematic warmth of film.
@The_Reality_Filter not just that. The problem is that they don't take the time to make miniatures anymore. Everything is cgi and our brains know it's cgi so it's less spectacular
It was hard to not feel extremely cynical about a numbered sequel to Gladiator, all these years later and in the current ecosystem and Hollywood landscape. As most of them- fancy on the outside, hollow and repetitive and way too safe on the inside. It's crazy how the quality of scripts degraded in recent years.
The original gladiator had a bad unfinished script. Caused a lot of problems. They made it work on the spot. Just absolute peak of everyone working. It's too procedural now. Too expensive.
It’s amazing that Hollywood made and mastered a formula for effective story and characters, and somehow has completely forgotten the recipe. I mean it ain’t the lost methods for constructing the Pantheon.
Could not agree more with this review. Pointless and half hearted. Scott filmed this in 53 days and it shows. Connie Nielson said that set ups sometimes would take a few hours on the first film, it took as much as 20 minutes on this one, and you can certainly feel it.
“My name is Maximus Decimus Meridias, commander of the armies of the north, general of the Felix legions, loyal servant to the true emperor Marcus Aurelius, father to a butchered sequel, husband to a murdered script, and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”
They took chances with modest budgets. They had to truly justify the costs. Movies are too safe and too expensive these days. Leads to direction by committee/investors.
This movie reminded me of The Thing (2011), which was both a prequel and soft remake. It basically told the same story while still being tied to the original. It didn't really add anything, and can be either taken as canon or ignored with no real consequence either way
To me it seems like all the great directors from years before like Spielberg or Coppola or Ridley Scott all struggle to capture what they used to be able to do
Spielberg has been fantastic recently. Especially his incredible West Side Story. It’s the greatest musical film to come out of Hollywood for decades. Silly to compare that to Megalopolis or Ridley Scott’s soulless cash-grabs.
The main reason Gladiator II bothers me is because it kinda ruins the magic of the first one by forcing Lucius to be Maximus' bastard son. This wasn't necessary but more importantly it paints of different picture of Maximus that is not consistent with the man we all grew to respect. Here are a couple reasons why Lucius being the bastard son of Maximus does not work. When Maximus prays to his ancestors, he is always holding two figurines who clearly represent his wife and only son. He says "blessed father watch over my wife and son (singular) with a ready sword..." If Lucius was also his son, he would have said "my wife and sons" (plural) and he would be holding a 3rd figurine to represent Lucius. In order for the honorable Maximus to have gotten Lucilla pregnant with Lucius, he would've had to have slept with Lucilla while she was married to Lucius Verus and potentially while he (Maximus) was also married. At the very least, this means that the honorable Maximus disrespected the co-ruling emperor of Rome. This goes against the values and principles that Maximus stands for. In every conversation he and Lucilla have regarding their sons, they are always spoken of as belonging to them separately. When Maximus refers to Lucius, it's always "your son" and when Lucilla speaks of Lucius it's always "my son". This is not the language of parents who share a child. In a conversation with Lucilla in the first movie, Maximus says "I heard of your husband's death, I mourned him". This means Maximus respected her husband. How the hell does that line even work if he was shagging her behind his back? Next, in his conversation with his friend Juba about seeing their families in the afterlife, Maximus says this "You see, my wife and my son are already waiting for me." Does this sound like a man who has another son? Nope, Maximus has one goal. Avenge the death of his family and see them again in the afterlife. He does not mention Lucius, or pray for him, or try to stay alive to see him. The only reason Lucius is remotely important to him is because he cares for Lucilla. By killing Commodus, Maximus avenges the death of his family, saves Rome from the corrupt emperor, and unburdens Lucilla from fear of her son being killed.
Watched it with a friend as was given free tickets, and spent entire movie taking the p!ss out of it (quietly of course). At least we had some entertaining banter in the pub after. Naff. Cheers Oliver Lee
Freeze the video at 5.25 . Look to the left of the frame in the middle distance. You've got to give credit to Ridley Scott for moving the circular Temple of Hercules Victor half a mile from its actual location, and depicting it with its missing frieze and mediaeval roof - supposedly in 210 AD.
Gladiator the first film is brilliant film especially the swansong for legendary Oliver Reed. I haven't seen this film but Paul Mascel is brilliant on TV drama Normal People.
@@chasehedges6775 it is just a shame the majority of this year cinema hasn't been new and fresh. The majority of films have been playing it safe with no original material.
To think, Ridley Scott was wasting his time making Napoleon, House of Gucci & Gladiator II instead of spending time making a film duology that was almost his: Dune! I think his visual style would have been better than that of Denis Villeneuve’s. Edit: I forgot to mention “All The Money In The World”. That movie was OK, but it was not a moneymaker and cost more to reshoot Kevin Spacey scenes; these were setbacks Scott could’ve avoided by not making the film and instead directing Dune. I also think the film was meant to be a subtle spite against Trump. Jean Paul Getty, in the movie, is revealed to have set up his business in a way to not pay taxes. It’s meant to make leftists in audience go, “why the hell was he taking so long to pay the ransom money!? Tax cheat!” How dare he take too long to pay ransom to Communist kidnappers. How dare he not pay more taxes than he legally has to. 🙄 These were things economically illiterate “liberal” Americans hated Trump for. We found out that he actually had paid tens of millions of taxes later.
@ The story of Dune is already written for Ridley Scott. He’s not a screenwriter, so assuming the script for Dune part one and part two were pretty much the same, I think I would love those two movies rather than just enjoy them. A lot of what carried me through enjoyment of Dune part 1 & 2 was my love for the first book. If I didn’t know the story, I would’ve seen Villeneuve’s Dune films as passable, bland sci-fi films. Denis’s direction was one of the weakest aspects of the movie.
@@MCCrleone354 Ridley loves to force his own ideas into something, "Blade Runner" was already written too and he decided to completely ignore certain things in the book. Even in Alien there are problems about him fighting with everyone else.
@ He decided to ignore things in “do android dream of electric sheep“. But Blade Runner is one of the best movies ever made. If you think there isn’t enough from the book in the movie, that’s something you need to take up with David Peoples, 2nd screenwriter. He was the one who did a rewrite of Fancher’s script.
Sir Ridley Scott: Gladiator II won't get a director's cut I never saw the first movie in theaters so this is an opportunity to see a big Roman epic on the big screen.
The best films Ridley Scott has made are The Duellist, Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise and Gladiator. I feel Ridley had that arthouse auteur approach from 1977 to 2000 Since Gladiator Ridley has been more prolific with more films Some of his films seems to miss something special. Yes his eye for detail hasn't changed but there is something missing in some if his work.
@chasehedges6775 It is a great film especially the swordfighting choreographed by William Hobbs who did the sword choreography on films like Richard Lester's Musketeers films and Kevin Reynolds underrated The Count of Monte Cristo.
I just loved the line that was delivered after the fight. It was something like "So, you have proved you can beat an ape, let's see how you do against a man". The writer must have had a much smaller and placid in mind than the CG department came out with.
Ridley Scott has one of the best understandings of visual storytelling in Hollywood history. He also knows an interesting plot. But he has 0 insight on dialogue. If he gets a good script he is as good as any director ever, but if he gets a poor script he wont even realise
this was a fever dream, it started with Saurons attack on the White City of Gondor but with ships and then goes to follow Merry and Pippin who are the rulers of Rome
When I heard about this sequel, I rolled my eyes so hard. One it's completely unnecessary and two - sorry - Ridley Scott doesn't have the juice anymore. I don't want this sequel, but I especially don't want it from modern Scott.
You are right, Scott is pushing 90 and should retire haha. Sorry.. im a big fan of His, Alien and Blade runner are my all timer. BUT Jesus, i cannot stand some of His latest movies, feels like at this point, He run out of ideas.. And He still wanted to make another Alien movie haha
In real life gladiators actually rarely died in combat. They were expensive to maintain. But Hollywood always likes to portray Ancient Rome as so barbaric. No. They weren’t all that different from us relatively speaking but
I'm getting serious Alien: Romulus flashback right now. Recycle all you can from previous movies, just make it stupid-er. Alien: Romulus at least had that decent first half of the movie, just wasted potential to be much better, later. Something I don't expect from G2 at all, especially after watching this review. Sad, just sad.
"I've gotta better one....🤔, How bout (Wolfgang Petersen's TROY (2004) & The "ORIGINAL!" masterpiece GLADIATOR w/ (Russell Crowe) 2000 back-to-back in OLED 8K dts Surround Sound ☝🏼😁 Now "That'll (Always) get me "Flipping Off my couch with a "Kool Aid smile." 😁👍🏼
The successor to Commodus after a brief stint of two other emperors was indeed Septimius Severus, Caracalla and Geta's father. So Lucius' story should have been woven around the civl war post commodus' death and how he fell out of favour and had to flee for his life. The plot shown in the movie was paper thin and didn't explain anything. Caracalla and Geta hated each other leadering to Gaeta's murder, they plotted against each other for over a year until Gaeta's murder. Missed opportunity for the movie to not show this. Showing them as ruling relatively harmoniously made no sense.
Respect for your honest opinion. Many critics are praising the film. A film that they know is not good, selling an average film, do say the least, as quality entertaiment.
Would have been great to have an original story. Pretty sure with the money spent here, they could have come up with an original Gladiator story that properly focused on the corruption of Rome and how they really used the games to keep 'the many headed monster' happy and ignore the problems of home. Actually they could set it in 2024 and it would still hold true too!
4:30 This scene after main character wins the fight in the Emporors' palace. One of the Emporors walks right up to him while he's still armed, only a few steps away. The protagonist throws his weapon away and starts reciting poetry. I remember thinking- mate, he's right there! What are you doing? Get him now! He doesn't even have a weapon! You'll definitely get one of the emporors before the guards can stop you, you might even get both if you're quick! I mean the guy was supposed to be all about vengeance and hating Rome, and he was probably going to die as a gladiator anyway. Why is he throwing away his weapon instead of sticking it into the bad guy/s?
The movie is certainly worse than the original, but as a spectacular blockbuster in the scenery of ancient Rome is quite interesting. It justifies its existence
Glad that I wasn't the only one that thought the same about 20 minutes in. Oh well. I should've known better after also seeing Napoleon in the theater but hoped for the best. This one jumped the literal shark.
Why are audiences expecting Ridley Scott is going to give them originality? Didn't any of you see f*&$ing Napoleon? He nails cinematography, but he couldn't care less about the quality of the story. This isn't your father's Ridley Scott, so please stop being surprised by his execrable output.
I've said for years that if they wanted to do another Gladiator movie the only way to go was to do a Proximo prequel. Anything else would be silly because Maximus is dead. I even imagined them casting Damian Lewis as Proximo!
Ridley Scott is only as good as the script he's given or the team of writers the studio hire to improve it. That was the case with Gladiator. That film was headed for forgettable summer blockbuster status if not for the work of a team of British writers who came in late to try to improve a threadbare, hollow and half finished script. A huge amount credit also has to go to Crowe, who elevated Maximus to one of the great heroic characters in cinema history. He was perfectly cast and completely believable as the reluctant hero and a leader of men. Paul Mescal can act but he's not operating at that level and he's miscast here. Its such a shame that Ridley would be given these gifts to go make, if not a comparable film to Gladiator, just a respectable and watchable movie set in this period. Instead he chooses a lazy re-hash. A pure cash grab.
I read somewhere Zimmer didn't want to come back, since he'd already done music for the world and didn't want to retread what he'd already done. Too bad the soundtrack wasn't more of a stand-out in the movie like it was in the first.
From all the shameless Memberberry movies I've seen the past years (Rise of Skywalker, Indy 5 naahh let's say 80% Disney related stuff), Gladiator II was the most cheeky one. I've seen an interview Scott made while being on the premiere here in Germany (maybe I mix the location up) and told the interviewer basically that the sole purpose of the creation behind this movie was pure money making. At least he was honest. One of the shamless and boring movies I've seen in years.
I wish they'd taken the risk of making the Nick Cave idea. Hollywood used to do spectacular failures and sucesses. The balance of money men, visionaries, and artists has tilted so heavily toward calculated investment that even the most expensive failures are safe and nondescript.
I saw it last night and thought it was its own beast as far as the storyline was concerned. I enjoyed it immensely. SPOILERS Thought they wasted Derek Jacobi's appearance, he had a few lines, nice to see him in the sequel but his fate was played out like he was a film extra. Apart from that i loved it.
Have not seen it yet but from your summary in the beginning you literally narrarated the first gladiator. Fam killed, taken as slave and then fighting he gets taken to the colisseum and wins the crowd wow
ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!
Oliver: Uhm Not really...
Gladiator never needed a sequel. Its perfect as a standalone film and always will be
EXACTLY💯💯✅
The Ghostbusters sequels were pointless well. After GBII that is
@@jonbourgoin182I only have seen Ghostbusters 1(1984)
@@jonbourgoin182Yeah Afterlife was solid but it should've ended there. Frozen Empire was too much
@@Eva01-jy2qu7pu9r💯
Honestly waiting all this time just to get the exact same story told again is so pointless and typical of Hollywood these days
Not just "these days". When you look at Home Alone II, it is exactly the same film as the first one. And yet it still managed to make a shed-tonne of money, people loved it, and I do like it too to this very day.
Not just "these days". When you look at Home Alone II, it is exactly the same film as the first one. And yet it still managed to make a shed-tonne of money, people loved it, and I do like it too to this very day.
@ yeah it also didn’t come 20 years after. These days
@@subraxasA quiet Place 2: They literally gave us the SAME movie TWICE! The 2nd may as well have been an alternate cut of the first movie, stitched together from deleted scenes. And I just didn't bother with the 3rd at all but, I wouldn't have been surprised if it was yet another retread.
At least it didn’t have woke bullshit wedged in
Oh look, what a surprise!! Ridley Scott released an unnecessary sequel that's really just a pointless rehash of the previous movie everybody liked, but that's missing the emotional punch of the original...
... AGAIN.
Who's ready for Titanic 2 ?!!!
Just be glad Thelma & Louise went over that cliff
lol Titanic 2! Where 5 passengers stranded on a rescue boat hit a small iceberg and perish but never let go!
Pirates of the North Atlantic? Aquaman IV: Titanic Restored? Das Boot II: Iceberg Vampires?
Titanic 2: The Revenge
Somebody needs to do an AI fake trailer for Titanic II, people will lose their minds!!
I’m suprised Oliver hasn’t done a retrospective of gladiator
@@Paddynevs2012 yeah I need to get round to doing it as it’s a great film.
Take the hint Oliver
@@OliverHarperoh yes, I would like to see your retrospective video of Gladiator, because it would be great
I searched Oliver's channel for a Gladiator retrospective and was so disappointed he hadn't made one.
Oliver, we like your retrospectives, not so much the bloated commentary...hint hints...
Yes please. @@OliverHarper
I’ll be honest, I’m sick of movies being shot digitally these days. I yearn for 35mm and practical sets and effects. Even when there are practical effects, costumes, makeup, etc. it just looks as fake as the CGI when shot digitally.
totally agree.
DUNE 2 did it perfectly. shot digital then scanned back to film to add grain
Thank you
Kinda reminds me when Alien Romulus came out and they said don’t compare it to the other Alien movies because it’s its own movie. Yet it takes familiar scenes and quotes from both Alien and Aliens.
Who can forget the classic line: “Get away from her… you bitch?” 🙄
I found "Get away from her, you bi+ch" unbelievably cringe. It didn't fit, and I don't eat Memberberries.
Its a worthless memberberries film. We never needed any new alien films. I wanted to see proper followup to prometheus that doesnt focus on xenomorphs at all.
Romulus was good and so was Gladiator 2. Stop mindlessly hating
Even the name Gladiator II somehow feels wrong.
True💯
Gladiator The Next Chapter sounds better.
It's like "Braveheart 2" or "Titanic 2", it just sounds weird.
They'd have probably been better off just calling it "Gladiator: Strength & Honor" or something.
It's actually GLADIIATOR, as the opening tells us. 😂
How about "Gladiator Too" :D
Ridley deciding to shoot 'Gladiator 2' on a digital camera for the sake of convenience gives it that actors-doing-cosplay look that makes it look like a Netflix streaming release compared to the gorgeous cinematic visual quality of kodak and eastman 35mm used for the first one where it actually looks like a professional studio movie from the big 5. The other letdown is that you don't really end up caring about any of the characters so you're not that emotionally engaged in the story unfortunately. Crowe actually looks like a regal war veteran / Roman general rather than a guy you would see down at your local gym and his performance manages to provoke you emotionally. The first 2 minute entrance into the colosseum before Maximus instructs the gladiators to all stick together just for sheer thrill-factor, soundtrack, tension building, visual quality..etc is far better than the entirety of Gladiator 2 (5.5). Ridley is great when he has a good script to work with (The Last Duel / The Martian) but his directorial style can't elevate a lacklustre script in the same way that someone like Spielberg can.
He also shot 13 cameras at a time and was absolute hell for cleanup vfx artists. Removing all the other cameras and equipment is a nightmare
It definitely lacked a certain look of the original. It felt cheap
The TEXTURE of the first is so visceral. Sweat, sand, heat, blood, dust. You can almost taste it. It gives the film a density and immersion to a world that second can only half heartedly attempt trace around.
@@TheRubberStudiosASMR Agreed, I don't mind digital for still photography, even for documentaries (Planet Earth, Free Solo) and I can also totally accept it for sci-fi movies as it doesn't seem to matter so much with the flat and clinical nature of digital somehow not being as jarring for a futuristic setting (Oblivion, Tron Legacy, Riddick) but for historical dramas or westerns it just looks like someone's shooting it on a digicam.............because they are! Lol
nonsense. this film is gorgeous - for once in a modern mega-budget blockbuster you can actually see the money on screen. comparing it to netflix is just delusional.
Just wait till you guys hear that Ridley Scott already wrote 8 pages for the Gladiator III script so far... and no, i am not joking with this.
Fellow Struggler detected
I know.. I read..why?
Never underestimate Ridley Scott's abilities to completely screw up one of his legacy movies with a completely pointless and crappy sequel many years after the original.
Gladiator(2000) has one of the most awesome/wholesome depictions of Rome ever. I like the scene where Cicero is looking for Lucilla and he sees the play being on for the Roman kids. It’s adorable and likable and it’s good foreshadowing for the final duel between Maximus and Commodus.
I like ROME S.01 more
Will need to watch Rome then.
Definitely watch Rome. It's fantastic.
@@MonkeyKingsformerroomate ..NOT much action though 😲
@dallesamllhals9161 yeah, you can see the lower budget season one for sure.
Yeah, no interest in this one. Sounds like rewatching the original will do.
Yeah same, I will always be rewatching the original movie even more for the rest of my life, just like I will always be rewatching the trilogy (original 3 movies) of Indiana Jones for the rest of my life until I die
As a history fan, I hope one day realistic historical/war epics come back. Saving Private Ryan, Master and Commander, Tora Tora Tora...Historical accuracy, please.
..
💯
Its interesting what Oliver says about the films feels and looks smaller than the original. With all of the cgi tools available today the films just get worse and less cinematic.
It's all shot in digital whereas G1 was shot using Kodak 35mm film. Digital makes everything look, surprisingly, more digital and never has the same cinematic warmth of film.
@The_Reality_Filter not just that. The problem is that they don't take the time to make miniatures anymore. Everything is cgi and our brains know it's cgi so it's less spectacular
@@lajeandom Yup that's another straw on the camel's back. And then we have the forced DEI weaving its magic...
It's All because it's shot digitally
The film made me feel guilty about who I am. I gave my dog a little extra food to quell my insecurity.
That was me after watching The Lion King 2019 on Disneyplus for the first time.
It was hard to not feel extremely cynical about a numbered sequel to Gladiator, all these years later and in the current ecosystem and Hollywood landscape. As most of them- fancy on the outside, hollow and repetitive and way too safe on the inside.
It's crazy how the quality of scripts degraded in recent years.
The original gladiator had a bad unfinished script. Caused a lot of problems. They made it work on the spot. Just absolute peak of everyone working. It's too procedural now. Too expensive.
It’s amazing that Hollywood made and mastered a formula for effective story and characters, and somehow has completely forgotten the recipe. I mean it ain’t the lost methods for constructing the Pantheon.
The main character is literally a BarrySue. He's a great fighter just because... At least we knew why Maximus was a skilled fighter
@@swirvinbirds1971 oh stop
Have you ever heard of genes?
@@ZacharyTodd-p1x Genes? Genes don't give you learned skills guy.
Could not agree more with this review. Pointless and half hearted. Scott filmed this in 53 days and it shows. Connie Nielson said that set ups sometimes would take a few hours on the first film, it took as much as 20 minutes on this one, and you can certainly feel it.
“My name is Maximus Decimus Meridias, commander of the armies of the north, general of the Felix legions, loyal servant to the true emperor Marcus Aurelius, father to a butchered sequel, husband to a murdered script, and I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”
👍
👎
And I will my sequel in this life and the next, and the next, and next.
Awesome quote, you win the internet 😎😁
I watched the film on yarr harr arrr and will tell you my opinion, but not yet, not yet.
"Shot on iPhone to be watched on one" - Apple Maximus 190 A.D
I get the feeling Ridley may have made this just to get it out of the way and get paid.
Luke Scott was second unit. Maybe he wanted to set up a legacy. Maybe he filmed all of the Diddy videos and was blackmailed in to making Gladiator II.
Ok, you lost me at "mutated baboons"!
Then I just understand why my brain prefers to watch any 60´s, 70´s, 80´s movies than new stuff, going to theaters?? Probably never again...
They took chances with modest budgets. They had to truly justify the costs. Movies are too safe and too expensive these days. Leads to direction by committee/investors.
Are you going to do Retrospective review on either Gladiator or The Land Before Time, Oliver?
Why. The only question we all asked our selves when we heard there was going to be a sequel. Why?!
Stop watching this trash. I don’t give these people any money or attention unless I hear something is actually great.
“A cynical cash grab” 25 years later…
Sums it up perfectly
This movie reminded me of The Thing (2011), which was both a prequel and soft remake. It basically told the same story while still being tied to the original. It didn't really add anything, and can be either taken as canon or ignored with no real consequence either way
To me it seems like all the great directors from years before like Spielberg or Coppola or Ridley Scott all struggle to capture what they used to be able to do
Yeah, it’s just depressing
Spielberg has been fantastic recently. Especially his incredible West Side Story. It’s the greatest musical film to come out of Hollywood for decades. Silly to compare that to Megalopolis or Ridley Scott’s soulless cash-grabs.
@@yeahiagree1070 Fair enough but The original was better.
It’s like they’ve forgotten how to direct a movie or why they direct.
Scorsese still goes hard
it was garbage before it was announced.
and i never even watched a trailer for it to know that this is a fact.
What did you think of the overall movie though, now that you've actually seen it?
Yet here you are
I don’t have any interest in seeing this film
The main reason Gladiator II bothers me is because it kinda ruins the magic of the first one by forcing Lucius to be Maximus' bastard son.
This wasn't necessary but more importantly it paints of different picture of Maximus that is not consistent with the man we all grew to respect.
Here are a couple reasons why Lucius being the bastard son of Maximus does not work.
When Maximus prays to his ancestors, he is always holding two figurines who clearly represent his wife and only son.
He says "blessed father watch over my wife and son (singular) with a ready sword..." If Lucius was also his son, he would have said "my wife and sons" (plural) and he would be holding a 3rd figurine to represent Lucius.
In order for the honorable Maximus to have gotten Lucilla pregnant with Lucius, he would've had to have slept with Lucilla while she was married to Lucius Verus and potentially while he (Maximus) was also married. At the very least, this means that the honorable Maximus disrespected the co-ruling emperor of Rome. This goes against the values and principles that Maximus stands for.
In every conversation he and Lucilla have regarding their sons, they are always spoken of as belonging to them separately. When Maximus refers to Lucius, it's always "your son" and when Lucilla speaks of Lucius it's always "my son". This is not the language of parents who share a child.
In a conversation with Lucilla in the first movie, Maximus says "I heard of your husband's death, I mourned him". This means Maximus respected her husband. How the hell does that line even work if he was shagging her behind his back?
Next, in his conversation with his friend Juba about seeing their families in the afterlife, Maximus says this "You see, my wife and my son are already waiting for me." Does this sound like a man who has another son? Nope, Maximus has one goal. Avenge the death of his family and see them again in the afterlife. He does not mention Lucius, or pray for him, or try to stay alive to see him. The only reason Lucius is remotely important to him is because he cares for Lucilla. By killing Commodus, Maximus avenges the death of his family, saves Rome from the corrupt emperor, and unburdens Lucilla from fear of her son being killed.
They didn't have flat tops in ancient Rome.
-Ralph
Watched it with a friend as was given free tickets, and spent entire movie taking the p!ss out of it (quietly of course). At least we had some entertaining banter in the pub after. Naff.
Cheers Oliver
Lee
Another example that *almost* everything new sucks. Why was everything so much better back then? Am I just getting old?
There has always been good things, bad things, things that define their time, things that are derivative and made for money, so on and so forth.
IKR!💯💯💯. I feel old
@@anthonymartensen3164 Time and history is definitely a harsh mistress.
Movies had more importance back then. Movies now have less weight to them since we have so many options for entertainment.
@loope9421 and yet there is still a demand for movies and it is still a valuable pastime for countless people.
Freeze the video at 5.25 . Look to the left of the frame in the middle distance. You've got to give credit to Ridley Scott for moving the circular Temple of Hercules Victor half a mile from its actual location, and depicting it with its missing frieze and mediaeval roof - supposedly in 210 AD.
Gladiator the first film is brilliant film especially the swansong for legendary Oliver Reed. I haven't seen this film but Paul Mascel is brilliant on TV drama Normal People.
Exactly. Gladiator is a masterpiece.
The sequel was unneeded.
@@chasehedges6775 it is just a shame the majority of this year cinema hasn't been new and fresh. The majority of films have been playing it safe with no original material.
To think, Ridley Scott was wasting his time making Napoleon, House of Gucci & Gladiator II instead of spending time making a film duology that was almost his: Dune!
I think his visual style would have been better than that of Denis Villeneuve’s.
Edit: I forgot to mention
“All The Money In The World”.
That movie was OK, but it was not a moneymaker and cost more to reshoot Kevin Spacey scenes; these were setbacks Scott could’ve avoided by not making the film and instead directing Dune.
I also think the film was meant to be a subtle spite against Trump. Jean Paul Getty, in the movie, is revealed to have set up his business in a way to not pay taxes. It’s meant to make leftists in audience go, “why the hell was he taking so long to pay the ransom money!? Tax cheat!” How dare he take too long to pay ransom to Communist kidnappers. How dare he not pay more taxes than he legally has to. 🙄 These were things economically illiterate “liberal” Americans hated Trump for. We found out that he actually had paid tens of millions of taxes later.
The Ridley Scott of the 80's or 2000's would've done wonders with Dune, but today's Ridley Scott is only interested in content rather than quality
@
The story of Dune is already written for Ridley Scott. He’s not a screenwriter, so assuming the script for Dune part one and part two were pretty much the same, I think I would love those two movies rather than just enjoy them.
A lot of what carried me through enjoyment of Dune part 1 & 2 was my love for the first book. If I didn’t know the story, I would’ve seen Villeneuve’s Dune films as passable, bland sci-fi films. Denis’s direction was one of the weakest aspects of the movie.
@@MCCrleone354 Ridley loves to force his own ideas into something, "Blade Runner" was already written too and he decided to completely ignore certain things in the book.
Even in Alien there are problems about him fighting with everyone else.
@
He decided to ignore things in “do android dream of electric sheep“. But Blade Runner is one of the best movies ever made. If you think there isn’t enough from the book in the movie, that’s something you need to take up with David Peoples, 2nd screenwriter. He was the one who did a rewrite of Fancher’s script.
00:20 "Long awaited" by nobody.
My gosh, Gladiator 2 is cynical, lazy and vacuous.
Such a garbage movie.
First movie was pretty self contained.
Even if it did warrant a sequel (which it doesn’t) it didn’t need it 25 years later.
The cast in this movie looks all wrong. Denzel talks and acts like he is in Training Day.
Lol! Training Day 200 A.D.
Denzel being Denzel.
@@thetalentof😂😂😂
Ita called acting mate. No one is speaking Latin.
@@funkycains you could you not get what I'm saying? It's incredible.
Are you not entertained!?!?!?
No 😢 😂😂😂
NO
Sir Ridley Scott: Gladiator II won't get a director's cut
I never saw the first movie in theaters so this is an opportunity to see a big Roman epic on the big screen.
Honestly I swear anytime Ridley Scott makes a movie nowadays it’s like the movie gods torment us by flipping a coin.
No I think it’s just all shit minus maybe the Martian
I'm really tired of this guy and it sucks cause he still has a good cinematic eye
The best films Ridley Scott has made are The Duellist, Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma and Louise and Gladiator. I feel Ridley had that arthouse auteur approach from 1977 to 2000 Since Gladiator Ridley has been more prolific with more films Some of his films seems to miss something special. Yes his eye for detail hasn't changed but there is something missing in some if his work.
@@ninfilms I need to watch The Duelists
@chasehedges6775 It is a great film especially the swordfighting choreographed by William Hobbs who did the sword choreography on films like Richard Lester's Musketeers films and Kevin Reynolds underrated The Count of Monte Cristo.
I hated this movie. Historians who studied Roman history hated the movie. I trust them more than the critics.
Tell me those CG monkeys were from 20 years ago
I just loved the line that was delivered after the fight. It was something like "So, you have proved you can beat an ape, let's see how you do against a man". The writer must have had a much smaller and placid in mind than the CG department came out with.
Ridley Scott has one of the best understandings of visual storytelling in Hollywood history. He also knows an interesting plot. But he has 0 insight on dialogue. If he gets a good script he is as good as any director ever, but if he gets a poor script he wont even realise
I would agree about the HUGE plot hole of- where did the 2 Emporors came from. especially since the original film ended on a Republican note.
this was a fever dream, it started with Saurons attack on the White City of Gondor but with ships and then goes to follow Merry and Pippin who are the rulers of Rome
When I heard about this sequel, I rolled my eyes so hard. One it's completely unnecessary and two - sorry - Ridley Scott doesn't have the juice anymore. I don't want this sequel, but I especially don't want it from modern Scott.
No Clark. No Zimmer. No Me.
That's parody, not a sequel
Heard the CGI is awful and so is Denzel....film threat are wrong?
You are right, Scott is pushing 90 and should retire haha. Sorry.. im a big fan of His, Alien and Blade runner are my all timer. BUT Jesus, i cannot stand some of His latest movies, feels like at this point, He run out of ideas.. And He still wanted to make another Alien movie haha
In real life gladiators actually rarely died in combat. They were expensive to maintain. But Hollywood always likes to portray Ancient Rome as so barbaric. No. They weren’t all that different from us relatively speaking but
They should leave movies like Gladiator alone - No need for a sequel.
Agreed, just like they should’ve left Indiana Jones after The Last Crusade (3)
I'm getting serious Alien: Romulus flashback right now. Recycle all you can from previous movies, just make it stupid-er.
Alien: Romulus at least had that decent first half of the movie, just wasted potential to be much better, later. Something I don't expect from G2 at all, especially after watching this review.
Sad, just sad.
Enjoyed it at the cinema, but you're not wrong. Some great acting and casting, and looks nice though!
Gladiator II: Arena Boogaloo
Next up on the unnecessary sequel list, Titanic II, Alamo II, and Little Big Horn II!
I watched this review because I have no intention of watching Gladiator II. Watching Ollie is good enough.
"Thank you for saving me $20.....(I Sincerely appreciate this."👍🏼
Just see it for yourself and have your own opinion...
"I've gotta better one....🤔, How bout (Wolfgang Petersen's TROY (2004) & The "ORIGINAL!" masterpiece GLADIATOR w/ (Russell Crowe) 2000 back-to-back in OLED 8K dts Surround Sound ☝🏼😁 Now "That'll (Always) get me "Flipping Off my couch with a "Kool Aid smile." 😁👍🏼
Not a Gladiator fan but it was alright. Did feel like Denzel was the main character though manipulating Crowe Jr.
They really just re made The Gladiator? Wow... id much rather have had the sequel where Crowe fights his way through Hades.
Ridley could have retired twenty years ago and we would have lost nothing.
Gladiator was and still is one of the best films ever made and a cornerstone of cinema.
It's very good for a Hollywood movie but if you want to see how a story should be told using film then Akira Kurosawa is your man.
Ok💯
The same problems Scarpa had with Napoleon afflict this film too
Somehow if they wrote a Sequel about the Queer Giraffes Sounds less insane then that killing Christ idea. WTF
The successor to Commodus after a brief stint of two other emperors was indeed Septimius Severus, Caracalla and Geta's father. So Lucius' story should have been woven around the civl war post commodus' death and how he fell out of favour and had to flee for his life. The plot shown in the movie was paper thin and didn't explain anything.
Caracalla and Geta hated each other leadering to Gaeta's murder, they plotted against each other for over a year until Gaeta's murder. Missed opportunity for the movie to not show this. Showing them as ruling relatively harmoniously made no sense.
So you were not entertained ...
Respect for your honest opinion. Many critics are praising the film. A film that they know is not good, selling an average film, do say the least, as quality entertaiment.
Thank u for reinforcing what I already felt about this movie and feel better for not going to the theaters for it
I still wanna see Christ Killer.
I think those who loved the first one will like II. I enjoyed it despite its redundancies. They really upped the colissium scenes!
Would have been great to have an original story. Pretty sure with the money spent here, they could have come up with an original Gladiator story that properly focused on the corruption of Rome and how they really used the games to keep 'the many headed monster' happy and ignore the problems of home. Actually they could set it in 2024 and it would still hold true too!
i cant se the font or coloor im texting rn :D
"...the long awaited sequel to Gladiator"?!! err which nobody asked for or was waiting for?
I liked it, gave it a solid 8/10. Was surprised at rhe mixed reviews....
4:30 This scene after main character wins the fight in the Emporors' palace. One of the Emporors walks right up to him while he's still armed, only a few steps away. The protagonist throws his weapon away and starts reciting poetry. I remember thinking- mate, he's right there! What are you doing? Get him now! He doesn't even have a weapon! You'll definitely get one of the emporors before the guards can stop you, you might even get both if you're quick!
I mean the guy was supposed to be all about vengeance and hating Rome, and he was probably going to die as a gladiator anyway. Why is he throwing away his weapon instead of sticking it into the bad guy/s?
Oliver thanks . Always enjoy your videos. For the Gladiator sequel, I would've chosen a new character who could rise from slave to freedom.
2024 is gonna be remembered as the year the blockbuster went down in flames, and not just movies. Games too
The movie is certainly worse than the original, but as a spectacular blockbuster in the scenery of ancient Rome is quite interesting. It justifies its existence
Not gonna lie, Maximus giving Christ the Kratos-Zeus treatment at the end of God Of War 3 is super crazy wild plot lmao
Glad that I wasn't the only one that thought the same about 20 minutes in. Oh well. I should've known better after also seeing Napoleon in the theater but hoped for the best. This one jumped the literal shark.
The MOCO music in the trailer was enough for me to steer clear of it
"we wuz emperoruz". No. No you were not.
Why are audiences expecting Ridley Scott is going to give them originality? Didn't any of you see f*&$ing Napoleon? He nails cinematography, but he couldn't care less about the quality of the story. This isn't your father's Ridley Scott, so please stop being surprised by his execrable output.
I've said for years that if they wanted to do another Gladiator movie the only way to go was to do a Proximo prequel. Anything else would be silly because Maximus is dead.
I even imagined them casting Damian Lewis as Proximo!
Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?
Ridley Scott is only as good as the script he's given or the team of writers the studio hire to improve it. That was the case with Gladiator. That film was headed for forgettable summer blockbuster status if not for the work of a team of British writers who came in late to try to improve a threadbare, hollow and half finished script.
A huge amount credit also has to go to Crowe, who elevated Maximus to one of the great heroic characters in cinema history. He was perfectly cast and completely believable as the reluctant hero and a leader of men. Paul Mescal can act but he's not operating at that level and he's miscast here.
Its such a shame that Ridley would be given these gifts to go make, if not a comparable film to Gladiator, just a respectable and watchable movie set in this period. Instead he chooses a lazy re-hash. A pure cash grab.
Big mistake not bringing back Hans Zimmer
I read somewhere Zimmer didn't want to come back, since he'd already done music for the world and didn't want to retread what he'd already done.
Too bad the soundtrack wasn't more of a stand-out in the movie like it was in the first.
Stop putting Pedro Pascal in everything!
He peaked after Mandalorian S1 and S2
Agreed.
@chasehedges6775 and he wasn't really even in it.
Amen, brother, amen!
@@chasehedges6775I liked him better when I couldn’t see his face as well.
From all the shameless Memberberry movies I've seen the past years (Rise of Skywalker, Indy 5 naahh let's say 80% Disney related stuff), Gladiator II was the most cheeky one. I've seen an interview Scott made while being on the premiere here in Germany (maybe I mix the location up) and told the interviewer basically that the sole purpose of the creation behind this movie was pure money making. At least he was honest. One of the shamless and boring movies I've seen in years.
I wish they'd taken the risk of making the Nick Cave idea. Hollywood used to do spectacular failures and sucesses. The balance of money men, visionaries, and artists has tilted so heavily toward calculated investment that even the most expensive failures are safe and nondescript.
I saw it last night and thought it was its own beast as far as the storyline was concerned. I enjoyed it immensely. SPOILERS Thought they wasted Derek Jacobi's appearance, he had a few lines, nice to see him in the sequel but his fate was played out like he was a film extra. Apart from that i loved it.
Not seen yet i fear this is another Joker 2 situation......
EXACTLY. I feel happy that I
Haven’t seen this or Joker 2
👆👆👆👆This!!
Stayed clear of this and Joker 2, Graham Nortons interviews with them were very telling.
It is not. Gladiator 2 is a legit good movie.
@@charliebrouun6510 Fair enough but the original is still the best.
Had the choice to see this or Heretic with my bro last weekend glad we went with the latter
Have not seen it yet but from your summary in the beginning you literally narrarated the first gladiator. Fam killed, taken as slave and then fighting he gets taken to the colisseum and wins the crowd wow
Gladiator 2: Gladiate Harder