I don’t think he intends to? But a big movie like this & its associated press tour raises his profile & he can leverage that power to do quality projects.
This will definitely be a hard set back for his mainstream acting career. What other significant indie movies besides Aftersun has he done? All Of us Strangers is basically a Disney owned award play so that one doesn't count
Paul Mescal is going through his "early 00s Colin Farrell phase" of being miscast as a Hollywood leading man when he's really a character actor who happens to be attractive.
@@johnjungkook2721yes, very much so. He may not conform to conventional male beauty standards but the brilliance & humanity of his acting have made a lot of people fall in love with his looks as well.
I think he's just the most average looking Irishman... Colin Farrell, on the other hand, is considered a hottie by most Irish I would say. I like Paul Mescal (especially in Aftersun), but it's cringy that Hollywood somehow tries to package him as this next biggest sexy star or whatever.
Based on all of the first batch of reviews for the movie, the overwhelming amount of praise is going to Denzel Washington and that makes him a strong contender for an Oscar nomination in Best Supporting Actor. If he makes it in, it will be his 10th nomination!
I loved the first one as a teen. For the new one I went in with low expectations, and I thought it was pretty good. Not great, but good enough. Really liked Connie, Pedro, Denzel and the monkey. Agree that Paul Mescal's character seems under developed compared to Maximus and his story.
Just saw Gladiator II. The monkeys were bad, but so was Joseph Quinn's decapitated head... I'm surprised it was so visible on screen for as long as it was.
Your cat freaked me out SO MUCH as I watched this! I was deliberately trying to find mine so I could find out why my beloved cat Onyx was so talkative and crying!? It took me WAY too long to figure out the meows were coming from my TV! lol😂
I actually had a very high expectation and I was very let down. This film was horrible to me. Paul was not strong enough to lead this film at all. Not to compare to Russell, but they keep alluding to him so it’s hard not to. Paul just seemed small and just didn’t have the presence to hold the scenes. This movie just wasn’t it. Story was weak. How the Hell did Denzel take over Rome in a week?? The ending? No development in those emotions. Paul hated his mother in one scene then wanted to protect her and love her and never let her go 5 mins later. It just was not a good film.
I feel like im tripping, people saying denzel gives a oscar worthy performance? I mean sure he was good but if just being good is enough to win an Oscar then our standards have completely dropped. He didnt give 1 single scene where i went "WELL THERES HIS OSCAR!" Pedro pascal was by far the best performance in the movie, his facial expressions just sells you on what his character is feeling in every moment, wish we saw more of him. As for the emperor's, they had a missed opportunity to make these guys way more funny and whacky. The whole movie i felt, ok so they want me to feel like these emperor's are dumbasses and sociopathic, but at the same time they didnt go all out. For example when the emperor's are putting their hands in the air to welcome the audience, they should have put their hands in front of eachother trying to get the limelight desperate to be the emperor who gets the most attention over the over. Sigh missed opportunity
Maximus is Dead. So they could either Godfather II it and do a prequel-sequel, some contrived whimsical "he survived" story, or cast someone new to try and match the gravitas Crowe brought. They went for the latter. Mediocrity ensued.
Speaking of both Russel Crowe and Denzel Washington, in “American Gangster”, Denzel completely outshined Russel in the movie, and his presence in “Gladiator II”, was enough to make up the absence of Russel’s presence, and carry the movie out from being absolutely terrible, based on early critic’s reviews.
POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD?… As a big fan of the first film I have a problem with the “reveal”/retcon I think they’ve hinted towards in this film regarding Maximus’ “secret” lineage. To me if Lucius was actually his Lucilla would have told him before his ultimate death in the first film. If Im right about this retcon I pray its done well but it feels like a tacked on element to ground it as a continuation from Maximus’ story?
This film feels like a money grab and not much more. Gladiator managed to become a modern classic and really couldn’t be followed seriously by anything in terms of a film that could reach the emotional gravitas and pure epic nature of the original. And just as a side comment, I can’t be the only guy here who finds these twins insanely attractive. Wish they made more content.
He's always been pretty hit-or-miss. Look at the 90's: Thelma & Louise (classic), 1492 (womp womp), White Squall (meh), GI Jane (meh). Then Gladiator in 2000 (classic). He's not a Spielberg, Scorsese, Kubrick, or Tarantino. I'm relieved this film is getting moderately good reviews, tbh. I was expecting much worse.
I get the shallow backstory aspect and I definitely agree and feel like Denzels character should’ve been fleshed out more and allowed to fester for longer. From where Pedro Pascal’s character dies to the end the stakes felt non existent because big characters were dying every 2 minutes and the final fight seen was a bit shit too. Good film other than that for me and I felt Paul Mescal was very good with what he was given, don’t really think he was miscast
lots of mediocre high budget movies have been awarded - awards are essential for business and high budget movies inevitable are oftentimes business rather than art
I am not into action but im seeing it for pedro….ive heard its kind of a boring ‘good guy’ part that lacks juiciness, which is disappointing bc he is such a good actor. But im glad he got to be in this bc he wanted to work with ridley and got to be part of a big movie which he really hasnt been so far.
I often thought that the biggest mistake Ridley Scott did with the first Gladiator movie was when he wasn't a producer of the first movie so when Gladiator won Best Picture, he didn't accept the trophy for himself because he wasn't the producer. I think about this a lot as it was his close chance to get an Oscar trophy if he was the producer like he is with his recent movies. After Gladiator came out, he became a producer in just about every movie he made 😅
Your opinion, Paul mescal got the job & killed it in my opinion, you naysayers just love criticising talent you could never match. Critics are so pathetic and unimportant let’s see who gets millions in revenue I’ll trust them over you & some meaningless critique
@benjicarey5870 aah yes, Ryan Reynolds rakes in a ton at the BO. That doesn't mean he's of good quality. And, I love Paul. Loved Aftersun, Normal people, etc.. I'm just saying, imo he's miscast in this. Denzel carries it.
Mescal and Washington were on Graham Norton and Washington said Mescal delivered in the same way Russell Crowe did in the original Gladiator. So, we shall see???? I have become such a fan of Mescal and am looking forward to seeing what he does with this!!!!!
EVERY 80+yrs old filmmaker is DERIVATIVE of their own style. The only exceptions being George Miller & Clint Eastwood. They actually got better as they aged, Ridley got worse
I passionately disagree. He's always been hit-or-miss. There are some classics under his belt but mostly meh or stinkers. (Look at what he directed in the 90's and 00's).
Out of all the unnecessary sequels, this one ranks the highest as completely unnecessary. Gladiator 1 wasn't about the coliseum or the gladiator battles, it was about Maximus. It's his story and his story only.
@ktom5262 What films have I seen? My friend, it's quite the opposite. Very proud to say I haven't watched a Ridley Scott film since All the Money in the World. I'm through with that senile schlock master.
@ryantrent2114 Firstly, his historical movies are far from bloodless. Secondly, "mediocre" isn't typical for Ridley. The Duellists, Alien, Blade Runner, 1492, Thelma & Louise, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom Of Heaven, The Last Duel are excellent or at least very good movies.
I can’t believe I’m even watching this but it’s testament to the Oscar Expert & Brother Bro that people are tuning into a review of a film they never intend to see Love the insights into acting & directing here. The boxing analogy about original line delivery & the observation about the need for a director to shape performance to achieve cohesion 👌 10/10 🫡
LOVE YOUR CATS WHATSHISNAME MAYBE THEYLL GIBE RIDLEY A DIRECTINGOSCAR AND MAYBE HIGH GRANT WILL BE NOMONATED FOR HERETIC LOOK FOWARD TOYOUR OSCAR STUFF
I thought the first Gladiator had really cool action and Joaquin Phoenix kicks ass in a great supporting role, but I found the story pretty unoriginal and Russell Crowe a dull lead that made the emotional core of the film harder to get invested in. Replace Joaquin with Denzel and that looks like how I’ll feel about this one.
Connie Nielsen was great? Seriously guys? I thought her performance is pretty bad and overall, you're too kind with the movie. It was dogshit, my biggest disapointment of the year.
@ actually I beg to differ. Top Gun: Maverick, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, The Batman are some great examples of blockbusters that care about story telling
@@juanvasquez9399 People can speak in entirely different accents within the same country. If you wanna pull the historical accuracy card, do you really think someone from one end of the Roman Empire would necessarily speak with the same accent as someone from the other side?
Paul. Don't. EVER. QUIT. Indie. Films!!!!
I don’t think he intends to? But a big movie like this & its associated press tour raises his profile & he can leverage that power to do quality projects.
This will definitely be a hard set back for his mainstream acting career.
What other significant indie movies besides Aftersun has he done? All Of us Strangers is basically a Disney owned award play so that one doesn't count
@@derg6222 Normal People
Paul Mescal is going through his "early 00s Colin Farrell phase" of being miscast as a Hollywood leading man when he's really a character actor who happens to be attractive.
is he considered attractive?
@@johnjungkook2721yes, very much so. He may not conform to conventional male beauty standards but the brilliance & humanity of his acting have made a lot of people fall in love with his looks as well.
@@johnjungkook2721not my type but some ppl find him
attractive to each his own
I think that’s a bit harsh, he was very good in this film
I think he's just the most average looking Irishman... Colin Farrell, on the other hand, is considered a hottie by most Irish I would say. I like Paul Mescal (especially in Aftersun), but it's cringy that Hollywood somehow tries to package him as this next biggest sexy star or whatever.
Based on all of the first batch of reviews for the movie, the overwhelming amount of praise is going to Denzel Washington and that makes him a strong contender for an Oscar nomination in Best Supporting Actor. If he makes it in, it will be his 10th nomination!
Maybe Paul wasn’t ready for a big movie. It takes time to get there.
I thought he was great tbh
Interesting the way you talk about the charisma and that indie films are more subdued performance wise. There’s a lot to be said for movie stars
Ridley Scott missed his closest chance to get an Oscar trophy if he was the producer of the first Gladiator movie that won Best Picture 😅
Why wasn’t he a producer? I’m genuinely curious to know more about it!
He has the mind of a 5 year old boy. Perfect!
09:48 Cole’s crazy for that monkey impression 🙈
9:46: That monkey screech harshly lowered my defense! O_O
Cat.
I loved the first one as a teen. For the new one I went in with low expectations, and I thought it was pretty good. Not great, but good enough. Really liked Connie, Pedro, Denzel and the monkey.
Agree that Paul Mescal's character seems under developed compared to Maximus and his story.
Just saw Gladiator II. The monkeys were bad, but so was Joseph Quinn's decapitated head... I'm surprised it was so visible on screen for as long as it was.
It was a trainwreck.
Your cat freaked me out SO MUCH as I watched this! I was deliberately trying to find mine so I could find out why my beloved cat Onyx was so talkative and crying!? It took me WAY too long to figure out the meows were coming from my TV! lol😂
I actually had a very high expectation and I was very let down. This film was horrible to me. Paul was not strong enough to lead this film at all. Not to compare to Russell, but they keep alluding to him so it’s hard not to. Paul just seemed small and just didn’t have the presence to hold the scenes. This movie just wasn’t it. Story was weak. How the Hell did Denzel take over Rome in a week?? The ending? No development in those emotions. Paul hated his mother in one scene then wanted to protect her and love her and never let her go 5 mins later. It just was not a good film.
That monkey impression was incredible!!!!
Agree! I haven't seen the film yet, but judging from the trailer, I was already saying, "I'm not feeling it from him."
I feel like im tripping, people saying denzel gives a oscar worthy performance? I mean sure he was good but if just being good is enough to win an Oscar then our standards have completely dropped. He didnt give 1 single scene where i went "WELL THERES HIS OSCAR!" Pedro pascal was by far the best performance in the movie, his facial expressions just sells you on what his character is feeling in every moment, wish we saw more of him. As for the emperor's, they had a missed opportunity to make these guys way more funny and whacky. The whole movie i felt, ok so they want me to feel like these emperor's are dumbasses and sociopathic, but at the same time they didnt go all out. For example when the emperor's are putting their hands in the air to welcome the audience, they should have put their hands in front of eachother trying to get the limelight desperate to be the emperor who gets the most attention over the over. Sigh missed opportunity
Denzel kept me engaged and his Machiavellian like performance really elevates the film for me. Solid 7.8/10
Gladiator II without Russell Crowe is like The Equalizer sequels without Denzel Washington and The Matrix sequels without Keanu Reeves. No thanks.
Maximus is Dead. So they could either Godfather II it and do a prequel-sequel, some contrived whimsical "he survived" story, or cast someone new to try and match the gravitas Crowe brought.
They went for the latter. Mediocrity ensued.
Speaking of both Russel Crowe and Denzel Washington, in “American Gangster”, Denzel completely outshined Russel in the movie, and his presence in “Gladiator II”, was enough to make up the absence of Russel’s presence, and carry the movie out from being absolutely terrible, based on early critic’s reviews.
Clickers in last of us be like 9:48
I swear, Ridley Scott is the only filmmaker who could direct an epic in his sleep.
POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD?…
As a big fan of the first film I have a problem with the “reveal”/retcon I think they’ve hinted towards in this film regarding Maximus’ “secret” lineage. To me if Lucius was actually his Lucilla would have told him before his ultimate death in the first film. If Im right about this retcon I pray its done well but it feels like a tacked on element to ground it as a continuation from Maximus’ story?
Did gladiator need a sequel? It's been how many years since the first one
No movie "needs" to be made
@@chrisf5828 some are more unnecessary than others, however.
I watched Gladiator 2 yesterday, it was good, but it really didn't need to be a sequel to Gladiator (and the first Gladiator didn't need a sequel).
People ignore The Last Duel wayyyy too much
This film feels like a money grab and not much more. Gladiator managed to become a modern classic and really couldn’t be followed seriously by anything in terms of a film that could reach the emotional gravitas and pure epic nature of the original.
And just as a side comment, I can’t be the only guy here who finds these twins insanely attractive. Wish they made more content.
Mescal was ridiculously miscast here,
He's always been miscast
@@showbizroxs WTF. Guess you didn't watch Aftersun and All of Us Strangers.
@redcrabdue1787 no one would buy him as a dad of a 12 year old, no matter how good his acting was
@@showbizroxs Everybody did. Also, his performance in Normal People is a masterclass of acting and the reason Scott hired him.
@@redcrabdue1787 Or Normal People
@09:55 ngl that looked scarier than anything I saw in The Substance
It's a Queen Hippolyta and Maxwell Lord reunion.
How to destroy your own legacy: Be like Ridley Scott
His legacy is already set in stone my dude, can't ruin what he has already done...had an amazing career
He's always been pretty hit-or-miss.
Look at the 90's: Thelma & Louise (classic), 1492 (womp womp), White Squall (meh), GI Jane (meh). Then Gladiator in 2000 (classic).
He's not a Spielberg, Scorsese, Kubrick, or Tarantino.
I'm relieved this film is getting moderately good reviews, tbh. I was expecting much worse.
Idk how ridley dropped the ball this hard. Maybe he needs to hire a good writer
Based on the thumbnail but this films budget being I think $300 million I think crazy
Too much money for mid reviews
A little disappinting - poorly written and shallow backstory for all. Was Paul best for role?
I get the shallow backstory aspect and I definitely agree and feel like Denzels character should’ve been fleshed out more and allowed to fester for longer. From where Pedro Pascal’s character dies to the end the stakes felt non existent because big characters were dying every 2 minutes and the final fight seen was a bit shit too. Good film other than that for me and I felt Paul Mescal was very good with what he was given, don’t really think he was miscast
I don't see why we have to award mediocre movies just because they're made by an auteur like Ridley Scott. Get rid of that and award The Substance.
lots of mediocre high budget movies have been awarded - awards are essential for business and high budget movies inevitable are oftentimes business rather than art
You've said the exact right things about this film. I don't know what other critics are on these days but you guys are locked in.
New sub 👍
I am not into action but im seeing it for pedro….ive heard its kind of a boring ‘good guy’ part that lacks juiciness, which is disappointing bc he is such a good actor. But im glad he got to be in this bc he wanted to work with ridley and got to be part of a big movie which he really hasnt been so far.
Idk how you can call The Last Showgirl slight when Gladiator 2 adds nothing to the narrative.
Non Gladiator without Ralf Moeller
It was a 3.5/5 for me
(loved The Last Dual btw)
Justin's recent thumbnails and im like omg ok r u reviewing a film or some adult content material?! I love it!
Good choice of color blue
The Last Duel is an awesome movie.
I often thought that the biggest mistake Ridley Scott did with the first Gladiator movie was when he wasn't a producer of the first movie so when Gladiator won Best Picture, he didn't accept the trophy for himself because he wasn't the producer. I think about this a lot as it was his close chance to get an Oscar trophy if he was the producer like he is with his recent movies. After Gladiator came out, he became a producer in just about every movie he made 😅
His only real chance at an Oscar at this point is an honorary one, either an Irving Thalberg Award or the Honorary Oscar.
I just saw it.
I thought it was really good
Oscar Expert just like this video, i can not wait to see this movie,,the one in my favorite Blue do Hot 😚🥰😍🤩
Gladiator 2 should have been scripted by Nick Cave, not David Scarpa.
Paul Mescal is so miscast in this.
Russell Crowe had big shoes to fill.
Off the top of my head I can't think of the feet.
Deadpool had more substance than this did.
Ridley needs to retire
This is a good movie
Wow you want histrionics? That’s a pure US view, Paul mescal is phenomenal learn subtlety mate
Subtlety is fine, but he was like a video game character in this. Super one note.
Your opinion, Paul mescal got the job & killed it in my opinion, you naysayers just love criticising talent you could never match. Critics are so pathetic and unimportant let’s see who gets millions in revenue I’ll trust them over you & some meaningless critique
@benjicarey5870 aah yes, Ryan Reynolds rakes in a ton at the BO. That doesn't mean he's of good quality. And, I love Paul. Loved Aftersun, Normal people, etc.. I'm just saying, imo he's miscast in this. Denzel carries it.
Gli Dei hanno parlato :
👍
I enjoyed it like a 1950s sword-&-sandals epic!
Mescal and Washington were on Graham Norton and Washington said Mescal delivered in the same way Russell Crowe did in the original Gladiator. So, we shall see???? I have become such a fan of Mescal and am looking forward to seeing what he does with this!!!!!
Love the blue shirt
It Looks like an interesting movie😍🥰
EVERY 80+yrs old filmmaker is DERIVATIVE of their own style.
The only exceptions being George Miller & Clint Eastwood. They actually got better as they aged, Ridley got worse
I'd also add Martin Scorsese among the group. KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON is exceptional.
I passionately disagree. He's always been hit-or-miss.
There are some classics under his belt but mostly meh or stinkers.
(Look at what he directed in the 90's and 00's).
save your time and watch arcane
Out of all the unnecessary sequels, this one ranks the highest as completely unnecessary. Gladiator 1 wasn't about the coliseum or the gladiator battles, it was about Maximus. It's his story and his story only.
Looks bloodless and mediocre in typical Ridley Scott fashion. Hard pass.
It is.
True
"Bloodless in typical Ridley Scott fashion "...? Bloodless, really? LOL, what movies did you watch??
@ktom5262 What films have I seen? My friend, it's quite the opposite. Very proud to say I haven't watched a Ridley Scott film since All the Money in the World. I'm through with that senile schlock master.
@ryantrent2114 Firstly, his historical movies are far from bloodless. Secondly, "mediocre" isn't typical for Ridley. The Duellists, Alien, Blade Runner, 1492, Thelma & Louise, Black Hawk Down, Kingdom Of Heaven, The Last Duel are excellent or at least very good movies.
Hi from 🇮🇪. Awesome video. Dropped a sub . Three months into my movie review channel. So far, So good. Stay Cool. Philbo 🎬
I can’t believe I’m even watching this but it’s testament to the Oscar Expert & Brother Bro that people are tuning into a review of a film they never intend to see
Love the insights into acting & directing here. The boxing analogy about original line delivery & the observation about the need for a director to shape performance to achieve cohesion 👌 10/10 🫡
Justin you look sooo good in that blue shirt, I am sooooooo gay 🫠
A Kraptacular for the masses they should have had Carrot Top in here to really make it credible🤮
LOVE YOUR CATS WHATSHISNAME MAYBE THEYLL GIBE RIDLEY A DIRECTINGOSCAR AND MAYBE HIGH GRANT WILL BE NOMONATED FOR HERETIC LOOK FOWARD TOYOUR OSCAR STUFF
I thought the first Gladiator had really cool action and Joaquin Phoenix kicks ass in a great supporting role, but I found the story pretty unoriginal and Russell Crowe a dull lead that made the emotional core of the film harder to get invested in. Replace Joaquin with Denzel and that looks like how I’ll feel about this one.
Connie Nielsen was great? Seriously guys? I thought her performance is pretty bad and overall, you're too kind with the movie. It was dogshit, my biggest disapointment of the year.
its their opinion. You have yours, they have theirs. Its like that.
Every blockbuster=mediocre
Every indie film=amazing
Seeing a pattern
Blockbusters don’t care for storytelling…imagine if they did
@ actually I beg to differ. Top Gun: Maverick, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, The Batman are some great examples of blockbusters that care about story telling
@ that’s the minority of films but the vast majority of them have one-dimensional characters.
@ again, we can agree to disagree. I have a degree in film and I can tell you that most blockbusters don’t have one dimensional characters
@@connorstevens8020 okay sir 👍🏽
Meaningless film
Frankly, if you aren't entertained by Gladiator II then stop watching movies altogether because this is as good as it gets. you miserable so and so.
Denzel’s choices = a Jersey accent.
not a fan of some of the choices.
More confused by them.
Nice try, all the accents are terribly inaccurate. Washington gave the BEST performance by far, so you should thank him.
Denzel Washington speaking with an American assent but he is in rome
So what. What else should he do? They didn’t speak any English accent in Rome.
But at least the accent needs to be consistent with all the actors.
@@juanvasquez9399 pretty sure he was a slave before the events of the films and thus not Roman so a different accent checks out
@@juanvasquez9399 People can speak in entirely different accents within the same country. If you wanna pull the historical accuracy card, do you really think someone from one end of the Roman Empire would necessarily speak with the same accent as someone from the other side?
@@juanvasquez9399 but why though. The movie is not shy about being historically inaccurate so it’s not like it’s disingenuous
The Last Duel was shit and Jodie Comer overacts in every damn thing she does.
The Last Duel is an awesome movie. Even the last 5 minutes alone were worth the price of cinema ticket.
The Last Duel is an awesome movie. Even the last 5 minutes alone were worth the price of cinema ticket.
@@ktom5262 No it's not..... the last 5 minutes were the only part worth of watching. the rest of the movie was terrible.
@bdleo300 You are terrible. The movie is awesome.
Last Duel was unbelievably dull
It's 100% an unnecessary sequel. Forced story and premise. But my gawd, the action and production design made this movie so entertaining