Will you be watching "Gladiator II" in theaters?? Are you a fan of the original "Gladiator"? ☕ And thanks again to Trade Coffee! Get a FREE bag of fresh coffee with any subscription purchase here: drinktrade.com/impressionblend
Honestly, the instant I saw the trailer for 'Gladiator II', I had ZERO urge to see the movie. Despite it having Denzel Washington in it and some glimpses of galley ships in battle, etc, I had no desire to see it.
I think that's true for all time, not just this decade. Only a small percentage of anything, movies, books, songs, w/e, are good enough to really make me feel something. Still plenty of others that are entertaining, but truly making you feel something is special.
The whole retcon with Lucius now being the son of Maximus CHEAPENS Maximus' arc as an honorable man. Yes, he had something with Lucilla in the past but that was iirc before she and he got married to other people, and when they reconnected after years he marvelled at how both of their sons were around the same age. To overcome the loss of his wife and son, and to show this kindness to the son of his old female friend just makes him even greater of a character. You do not NEED to be blood-related to a person to impress such kindness, admirability and drive for strength and honor onto them. This retcon literally bothered me throughout the movie.
Yes, also I think she was honourable to her husband, there is no need to inject degeneracy like that, it wasn't THAT common before, it was very rare, you assume people are faithful, there was a past with Maximus, it seems the father disapproved of them before which is why they didn't end up together, he clearly felt betrayed by her for leaving him [I got that from their first interaction], but there was never any indication that she was unfaithful to her husband in any way, it was obvious Lucius had a father and liked his father and he looked like her. She and Maximus had something and rekindled but after both had lost their spouses ... so this honestly cheapens it for me on both ends Lucilla was never hinted as unfaithful in the original either.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt like that. I felt that everything we admired about Maximus as a man was cheapend by making Lucius his son. They smeared the character of Maximus in my eyes. I also felt nothing watching the movie. There was no emotional attachment. Disappointing.
"The whole retcon with Lucius now being the son of Maximus CHEAPENS Maximus' arc as an honorable man." This happens over and over again..... *somehow Palpatine lived.* Somehow *Newt* died so Ripley failed. Somehow the dead Shark's relatives *remember* (???) Sherriff Brody and want revenge. Somehow Wanda wants to bring back the magical children she let go of in the 1st place. Somehow Logan is alive again, but don't worry - it's not the same Logan, but a different one who is otherwise.....the same. The studio needs more money but has no ideas, so they basically vandalize the previous work. They will never stop doing this, as you can't fix artistic bankruptcy.
@ecclesiaxxi6210 I wouldn’t say it’s surprising that she was unfaithful during her marriage. She got married at like 13 to her co-ruler since she wasn’t able to make that choice on her own and there were no feelings between them. Maximus and Lucilla were around the same age so it was easier for them to fall in love, but he became a roman general and she was the daughter of the emperor so both had their duties to follow. Eventually Maximus found himself a wife and had a son, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t love Lucilla before all this… It’s obvious from the original movie.
I just feel like she would’ve told Maximus Lucius was his son in the first movie. That way he would’ve felt more obligated to live and raise him. So this was a cheap shot at a plot twist that still made me feel nothing but confusion and annoyance lol
Feeling nothing after seeing a $300 million dollar movie is the norm now. After 2010, most hollywood movies have slowly become hollow, empty, just spectacle and cgi. Ugh I’m just so tired of the same garbage
They got rid of all of the Males who were running Hollywood when the MeToo movement happened and then replaced them with female DEI hires. Basically, Hollywood can never come back now. If the movie industry recovers, then it won't be through Hollywood, a completely new Epicenter for film would have to be developed from scratch.
@@AndriyValdensius-wi8gwnot saying it was a great movie, but come on- an archer who dies from a random enemy in the first act and exists only to provide motivation for the male lead qualifies as a 'girl boss' now?
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. So, Ridley Scott's devotion to historical inaccuracy extends to his own stories, haha.
They nodded towards Lucius being the son of Maximus in early trailers exactly 25 years ago, the files are also out now aswell stating the identity of his father was labeled as “mysterious” people should know this already, and your a little off i get your points but, while Lucila and Maximus were secretly together and already making love she was forced into a marriage and since he was a general of her father they’re relationship couldn’t be made known anyway so they had to break apart now fast forward 9 months into the forced marriage Lucius is born due to the secret love before the marriage so she makes it as if it’s the “husbands” and while she’s “married” Maximus had moved on and has his own family now which is why commodus says he really hurt you didn’t he (referring to Maximus) and Lucila replies “no more than i him” or something close meaning they broke apart hurting each other when they both moved on Edit: also i wouldn’t imply so much on Maximus’ honor if we’re going that way atleast remember when he kissed Lucila in his cell whilst still mourning the loss of his family
And it sounds like a man who didn’t know he had a son, you do remember she never told Maximus Lucius was his son, hell she didn’t even tell Lucius until Gladiator II I mean seriously though it was always heavily implied and understood Lucius father was an enigma that they finally made clear in the sequel although some of us already knew…the movie has been out 25 years counting this year so you’ve had nothing but time to figure it out and you also confused Commodus her strange brother for her deceased husband at first
@ I just got off the phone with Ridley Scott and he said they never intended for Lucius to be the son of Maximus until he decided to make a sequel. Originally, the film was supposed to take place directly after the events of the first film showing the power struggle between the senators ruling as a republic and the rise of another Caesar who would end up throwing the senators into the colosseum along with anyone who resisted his rule including Lucilla . Lucius would watch his mother get eaten by lions before being made to fight as a child gladiator along with the children of the senators setting the stage for another epic revenge film. However, soon after production began, I woke up.
Lead actor has no gravitas, no charisma. Needed an actor who was believable for such a strong part...especially if they wanted to constantly compare to Crowe's original.
Who would you replace him with? How about you give a name of an actor you would like to see instead of the one that was casted because you sound like a little kid complaining about not getting their Dino nuggets
@@brianalex5083 Dino nuggets ? You sound a little butthurt. You sure you dont have a crush on that actor ?...He was seriously out of his depth with absolutely no gravitas to be playing a lead actor role. Should have been cast as an extra.
The thing is, a Asian 7/10 is MILES better than a western 7/10, if gladiator 2 is a 7/10 then I urge you to watch Korean and Japanese movies and shows😂
Saw it yesterday and felt like, it was not a second part, but a poor remake of the original. The audience were laughing (me included) at the last scene with Denzel , that's how unconvincing he was. I think Denzel is a great actor in general, but for this role, he was not a good choice, he didn't embody a man from ancient Rome.... conclusion is that there are classics that shouldn't be touched. The original Gladiator is a masterpiece with amazing cast, music and original plot.
Well of course, the first one is regarded as one of the best movies of all time... it will be extremely hard for any movie to reach that to begin with lmao
Not being as good as the original and being mediocre are vastly different things. This film is mediocre. Especially, when you consider the best elements are when it harkens back to the original. So much so, that it uses the foundations of the original as a crutch. Barely limping along. This film will be lost amidst the sands of time. Whereas the original became that much more legendary, simply because this sequel didn't measure up.
It's refreshing to see a review that aligns with my own thoughts. I've come across so many glowing reviews of Gladiator 2 that I couldn't quite believe it!
while watching G II i thought to myself if the guy running the projector interrupted the movie and said "hey guys were just gonna play the original Gladiator. cool?" everyone would've cheered
The first movie was a romance, the second a political story. Think this movie equal to the first. Denzel role and performance was center of movie and he delivered.
After 24 years, we did get a lesser copy of the original, while watching Denzel singlehandedly kill Geta & Caracalla, which was totally absurd. She's right, it all didn't “feel” and Lucilla's death was terribly handled.
Save yourself the money and go watch the first one if you're really wanting a good epic. You won't get your money's worth on the ticket price and popcorn. But a $4 rental (right now) for the 2004 version is instantly going to get you a better time/money value in every single way.
Ridley’s movies as good as they look rarely have emotional depth or something to really care about. He gets lucky from time to time but I’m not sure he likes people all that much….lol. The way she described this movie is how I felt about the first Gladiator honestly.
I haven’t seen it yet, but if I heard correctly that there are sharks in the coliseum… we can’t even get tiger or bull or great whites sharks into the biggest aquariums today. Nitpick, but still.
It’s in Russell Crowe’s eyes. He has a on screen command presence, and it wasn’t his height or his build. Because in gladiator Russell Crowe was not some muscle bound tall giant, He was an average height man, yes he was in shape but he wasn’t ridiculous. But he had a very stowed away personality but you could feel his anger, you could feel his sorrow, You could feel his need for vengeance. He just has that really good acting with his facial expressions and his eyes. Like there’s a small scene in the first movie right before the battle, Maximus is looking at a little bird. You can tell for that small little moment he’s at peace and appreciating the beauty of nature, He almost has like a child like smile on his face of fascination and happiness, I don’t think this other actor could pull this off. Russell Crowe was just a gift to the screen of our times.
Movies were once an event.. They were a special time for us all.. Now we are fed media 24 hours a day, we are numb to events such as school shootings, devastating disasters and on and on. I think Hollywood has changed for the worse, that is for sure. But I think we as a society have become shells of our own existence , so movies don't seem to touch our souls because we have lost our souls along the way.. Welp, I'm off to try and snag some likes on social media. cheers everyone!
I guess Ridley Scott missed one of the concepts of the original 'Gladiator'; that being, "Win the crowd." I'm not shocked that 'Gladiator II' will fall like the Roman Empire itself. ;)
Dealing with the afterlife was Ridley Scott's idea for the sequel back in 2001. He even wanted to bring back Maximus somehow. Kind of like Obi-Wan from the OG Star Wars.
great balanced review. They denigrated the original Gladiator, nobody wanted this sequel, how do you improve on a near perfection with story, characters (and you failed to mention it, Marianna) utterly stunning musical score. One example, the scene when Commodus asks for his name. As Russell Crowe turns and removes his helment, there is perfect words and background music.."My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius, father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance in this life or the next ".This is what makes epic movies EPIC. Still gets chills at this scene. My fav movie.
I walked out of the cinema… it felt like I was watching 300:Rise of an Empire, mixed with that Amazon prime gladiator show… Glad Denzel had fun, but we didn’t need a sequel!
Loved the first Gladiator like most people. Watched Gladiator 2 and it just felt like a hollow echo of the first film. Same basic plot, but without the charm, charisma, and magic. It's not a disaster, but it doesn't bring nearly enough new to the table to justify its existence.
Loving everything you do so much. Please continue to feed us more obscure content as well. That and your unique opinion on film is so refreshing. I genuinely love your work.
No one was cooler than Y2K Russell Crowe in Gladiator. His performance gives me goosebumps every time. Add Richard Harris, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, and one of the best film scores of all time, and the mind boggles that Ridley would want to make a sequel. Especially a bad one. Ugh 😣
Agree. Wasent bad but only average.It felt pretty surface level a few ridiculously over the top action scenes and tried to hard to immitate some of the types of scenes from the first. Lacked carachter depth and story depth that made the first so good. Visuals and atmosphere were beautiful. Denzel definitely stood out in moments. But overall the carachters still lacked depth compared to the first.
The lead actor looked like Logan Paul and I couldn’t unsee it. He was terrible, the twin emperors were terrible. The movie lacked depth and basically was the same lines and plot as the first one.
Boring film and childish script (seriously, either AI or a middle-school trainee wrote this) that limited the actors' performances (with the exception of Washington they all looked like wooden caricatures of what Victorians thought romans were like). And the action...it was usual Hollywood action. It just feels cheaply rehashed by now. Boring. Watched it in cinemas and now I want those 3 hours of my life back. Most boring film I've watched in years.
Gladiator 2 will never compare to Gladiator which was epic 🤩 in it’s own unique way. There was no need to even have a part 2 in the first place. The ending to Gladiator was perfect 👌🏻
@@melodychest9020 Commodus in the movie was a coward. In real Roman History he was also a worthless Emperor. In this movie. Maximus died well and was properly honoured.
Ridley Scott’s movies at least tried for historical accuracy in the past. The Duelists is one of the most accurate period films ever made. Now he just couldn’t care less about the content of his films.
I think it’s totally fair to hold a director of his caliber up to comparison with his previous work. It’s disappointing to hear this, and it should have been Ridley nurturing the movie to form even more so than other directors do.
Sharks in the Colosseum? Seriosly? How were the sharks captured and transported to Rome with so much seawater? With this in mind I have no intentions to watch this movie. What is happening to Ridley Scott?
Just watched the original Gladiator today again and the whole cast was brilliant. For any successful movie the villain has to be really good and boy the "crazy" Commodus by Joaquin Phoenix was too good and he has carried with that iconic crazy streak is other movies too. The movie had so much emotion that Russell Crowe just literally breathed to life. The music was awesome too and really touched a nerve. Ok, so I will go and see Gladiator II for the fun of it but I already know the original movie cannot be beat by a hundred miles.
This felt like a LifeTime made for TV movie with a bigger budget for the visuals but a smaller part of that budget for the script. It's an odd way to describe it but it was both slow at time and rushed at the same time. The villains were just annoying... maybe that's why the story felt a little disjointed. On the Denzel's character, I actually felt his Training day character was just copy and pasted into this movie. Sure it worked but it was a let down the way it resolved.
Really makes me mad, fighting giant monkeys and riding giant rhinoceros. Trying to appeal to teenagers with short attention spans rather than portraying historical accuracy.
I walked out 40 mins in. The problem I had is Denzel Washington is playing a character in 200 A.D. But he still acts like it's the movie Training Day. I love Denzel but he’s typecasted as either a cop or drug dealer character, not a slave owner in 200 A.D. Rome. Also, the pacing of story was too quick. In the original, Marcus loathes over the death of his family and is resistant to comply as a slave until he’s finally pushed. This movie, ok my wife and land were murdered and slaughtered. Put me into slavery and open the doors up so I can be a gladiator.
Ridley deciding to shoot 'Gladiator 2' on a digital camera for the sake of convenience makes it look like a Netflix streaming movie with that actors-doing-cosplay look 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 alone 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.
Digitally shot films can be beautiful. _The Batman_ and _Dune 1.2_ (both shot by Fraser, admittedly) look real and stunning. Personally, I've no interest in _Gladiator 2_, because unless the story is about Maximus and Lucilla, the story is finished. And Mescal's mullet is ugly AF.
@@KnarfStein Agree that Lucias's hair didn't do him any favours, they should've done a completely fresh story with brand new characters instead of drawing and inviting as many comparisons as possible with the first one in my opinion and trying to make it a direct sequel, 'Twisters' is a great example of how this can be done well. I find that digital visibly dates a movie very quickly, whereas if you watch movies shot on film from any period, for example Lawrence of Arabia or Alien from long ago with Challengers or Oppenheimer very recently, both sets of movies have the same visually timeless quality to them, despite each set of movies having been made many decades apart. Looking at recent digital entries compared to their predecessors like Furiosa vs Road Warrior, Matrix Resurrections vs The Matrix, Jurassic World, vs Jurassic Park, Phase 4 vs Phase 1, The Hobbit vs LOTR, Horizon vs Open Range, Independence Day 2 vs Independence Day, The Dial of Destiny vs Raiders of the Lost Ark, Alien Covenant vs Alien and Fincher's The Killer vs Seven all in 4k, the difference in visual quality is still very noticeable. Comedies and Horror movies especially have suffered from digital - I watched both 'Totally Killer' and 'Ghosted' last year and it just looked like actors doing cosplay vs movies in the same genres shot on film like 'A Quiet Place 2' and 'Wedding Crashers.' Digital has slightly improved over the years though. 'I'm Your Woman' is the most impressive use of the format that I've seen so far. Some shots look very close to film but it's not there yet. Some of the dialogue and colosseum scenes in 'Gladiator 2' even looked like b-roll / making of footage.
The gladiator movie needed to be left alone with its Oscar trophy 🏆. They should have done Gladiator ll with another story not associated or having connection with the first one.
You ABSOLUTELY NAILED this review 1000%! I'm not even going to read the other comments... You literally spoke, communicated and revealed EXACTLY the appropriate reality of this film, Ridley's failure to match grade with G1 and yet state it wasn't a flop, it's just decent entertainment. Again, you nailed this review! I could not for any value, rewrite myself anything different in this review. Visually stunning, silly CGI apes and purposeless main actor with little feeling. Boom. Done. LOL.
Romans did flood the coliseum to represent naval battles, but that was decades before this time. When these movies happen they had already built all the tunnels and polys system underneath the arena and they never flooded it again since that's where they kept the animals and it would have been a mess to get the water out of all of that. One thing is to take creative licenses, and another very different one is to do things that make you say "this is just stupid".
This puts my thoughts into words quite well. I was entertained. Sure. Denzel is absolutely fantastic. But it just doesn't really have the impact it intends to have and both Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal - I usually really like them both - don't quite fit in here for me. I am glad that I made my rewatch of the first one a few months ago, so there was at least some distance. I was impressed how well it holds up. This new one will probably not stay in our minds as long. Still, hats off to Sir Ridley for making a movie as big and energetic as Gladiator 2 at his age. And there is no sign of him slowing down. One last thing: What the hell were those monkeys?!?
Giving this film a 4/10 is being very generous. Story line with lucius could have been done so spectacularly, however its an absolute flop, from using actors who remind you of other films/series, CGI was embarrassing and acting all round was mediocre. Such a travesty. GLADIATOR will forever be the only masterpiece. This new film was shattered into disappointing pieces of all scenes and script. Hollywood is falling and failing and this film drives that home.
Wait OK OK I got one: "Alien vs Gladiator: Straight Outta Crapton" SETUP: This time, the Alien is an illegal alien who eats pets (but CARTOON pets) to pull in the masses of maga sub 80iQ fans, and Gladiator is the name of a trash compactor (The GE Gladiator Mach 4 or just "Gladiator" to internal management at GE) but it has expressive and even empathic eyes animated on its control panel, ya know, for the kids. STORY When the Gladiator model is discontinued due to its terrible selection of colors and door that sometimes flies open suddenly injuring children, in a sad turn it realizes it is unloved, and it sets out on an epic journey and after a montage of sad city scenes in rain (Think: Blade Runner but with Burt Bachrach's "Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head" playing in the background). When Gladiator falls asleep at a spectacular gothic train station we fade to black but then the action starts when he is suddenly bolt upright woken up in a POV shot with the Alien spray painting it a kind of pleasant mauve, and then plugging it in behind a potted fern by the magazine rack. It goes on like that for a while until Frances Ford Coppolla injects 130 million into it to allow the studio to hire a midget in a rubber alien suite and a LOT of cocaine. So, THEN... (DOOR FLIES OPEN) "NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!"
I understand you Marianna, I was at the movie theater a couple of times this month to watch something else and every time during Gladiator 2 trailer I felt apathy. No excitement, no curiosity, no disappointment or annoyance even. Just apathy.
After watching Gladiator 2, we realized after Lucilla's admission to Lucius that Maximus cheated on his wife to sire him with her - that Maximus's famous dialogue in the original should've rather been: “My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, and loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius (while banging his daughter). Deadbeat father to a murdered son, cheating husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next” So much for Maximus's "strength and honor" from the first film. Denzel Washington meanwhile replayed Alonzo Harris from Training Day as Macrinus in ancient Rome. The story in Gladiator 2 is crap and just an overCGIed rehash of the original.
Horrible movie, mediocre dribble,no substance no real friendship no bonding, it wasn't enough of the twins, I felt absolutely nothing from none of the characters. Denzel was King for 5 minutes😂😂😂😂😂 straight trash I'm call it how it is. 💯 💪🏾
I watched Gladiator 2 and, honestly, I found it quite banal. Once again, we see the stereotypical portrayal of Rome as corrupt and decadent, a depiction that is all too common in Anglo-Saxon productions. Unlike the first Gladiator, which I liked so much that I bought it on Blu-ray years ago, this sequel felt terrible to me in every respect: from its uninspired plot to its poor attention to historical accuracy. While it’s true that the Roman Empire faced moments of crisis, it was still the cornerstone of civilization and a beacon for humanity at the time. For my personal taste, this film failed to do justice to that historical period.
Watched it last weekend, only time I got emotional was when they showed flashbacks from the first movie and Hans Zimmer’s score kicked in, and that have everything to do with the greatness from the original and nothing to do with the new…
Plot: Guy taking revenge for his boss babe wife after he placed her in harms way on a battlefield. Tell me again, why were we meant to feel sorry for Lucius?
And we, the viewer, feel nothing for the loss of his wife or his redemption arc because she is killed at the very beginning, and we've had no time to feel the connection between them.
I don't know why, but Paul Mescal didn't make me believe in him being a leader here. He took stoicism seriously I guess instead of a Man seeking revenge.
I’ve watched the original Gladiator movie a bunch of times. When I heard there’s a sequel, I knew it wouldn’t be as good as the first one. But I decided to give it a shot because Ridley Scott is behind it. I was shocked to find out that it was even worse than I thought! The main character, who was supposed to be in rage, was always smiling. It really annoyed me because I wasted my time and money. The title is correct, I felt nothing. Ridley Scott is too old now for directing.
So...it's pretty much like everything Ridley Scott does now, all empty spectacle and absolutely no substance/heart. He and James Cameron should swap notes.
The colloseum being flooded I can understand. But "who will catch the sharks and have the titanium cajones to carry them to the colloseum"? In the interest of being real, should have kept the sharks out of it.
Watched it last night, and frankly I agree word for word with you. Absolutely spectacular, entertaining and impressive. But Mescal does not pierce the screen like Crowe did, and ultimately Lucius does not connect emotionally with the spectator as he should. A missed opportunity , methinks. A lesser version, albeit still a great cinematic experience overall.
You're not supposed to FEEL anything. You're just supposed to buy the ticket or rent the PPV. Once they've tricked you yet again into doing that, their job is done.
I did feel something. I was disappointed after watching this movie. I'm glad I didn't pay to see this in the theater. I rewatched Gladiator prior to this movie. This movie did not come even close to the original. Not even Denzel could save this for me. 😢
I haven’t seen it yet, but if I heard correctly that there are sharks in the coliseum… we can’t even get tiger or bull or great whites sharks into the biggest aquariums today. Nitpick, but still. Hippos and crocodiles on the other hand, that would work.
Not gonna lie, that title is actually the WORST thing you can say about a piece of media, if you ask me. Make me happy, make me sad, make me mad, even. But for goodness’ sake, make me feel SOMETHING. Otherwise, why do you even exist?
So far, it looks as though "Wicked" is set to score biggest this week, both in box-office terms and critically- it will be fun to follow both films' progress, in any case.
@@ImpressionBlend Looks that way- a friend just brought up to me both pics could do spectacular business during Thanksgiving- point taken and it will be interesting to watch (I'm on board for "Wicked" first, then probably will be "Glad II" check out the other movie).
the action was separated by these super long winded narratively-repetitive dialogue scenes that went on way too long. I didn't buy the main character, he didn't feel imposing. It might have been because he just never got a good backstory aside from the guy from 300 telling him he "learned everything they had taught him" or some similar trope. He felt like a major league 2 character. There weren't any stakes because we don't really care about lucious. I dozed off several times and I almost left the theater when they filled the coliseum with water and sharks, like how insulting to our intelligence is that scene? And how many times does he have to grab the sand off the ground before we say "yes, we liked the first one better"
The whole time i thought "this rome sucks, why the hell do i wanna be spending 2 and a half hours here" it really felt like ridley wanted us to hate Rome, and for me tbats never going to happen, many of the amazing things we have today started in Rome. Yet ridley just wanted to focus on how badly it smelt🤨. Do i think majority of people will like this movie? Yes, but anyone who remembers true historical fantasys like original gladiator, Troy, the last samurai, where u have hot actors and actresses, epic Choreography, sweeping score, incredible production design, u get lost into the world. Then U realise how pale this movie is in comparison because i couldnt wait to leave the world
I loved Gladiator mainly because of the story and drama. The action was just icing on the cake. If the story takes a backseat on Gladiator 2, we all know it's inferior to the original.
Gladiator already has a great spiritual successor in Vinland Saga. There’s a name drop scene just like the one Maximus gives, and it’s every bit as epic.
Will you be watching "Gladiator II" in theaters?? Are you a fan of the original "Gladiator"?
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You are very beautiful. I love this channel
Honestly, the instant I saw the trailer for 'Gladiator II', I had ZERO urge to see the movie. Despite it having Denzel Washington in it and some glimpses of galley ships in battle, etc, I had no desire to see it.
Love the original. Won’t watch this…ever.
I enjoied for me is just a movie to watch swords and sandals genre ❤🎉
Visually impressive?!? The movie looks awful-the worst cinematography I have seen on awhile and an amazingly bad CGI just a ton of sh*t on the screen.
"The visuals are great, I feel nothing". The sentence that define almost every blockbuster of the decade
I think that's true for all time, not just this decade. Only a small percentage of anything, movies, books, songs, w/e, are good enough to really make me feel something. Still plenty of others that are entertaining, but truly making you feel something is special.
If you feel nothing during this movie, there is something wrong with you.
@@Shadowmonkey1689 I felt like it was crap.
The whole retcon with Lucius now being the son of Maximus CHEAPENS Maximus' arc as an honorable man. Yes, he had something with Lucilla in the past but that was iirc before she and he got married to other people, and when they reconnected after years he marvelled at how both of their sons were around the same age. To overcome the loss of his wife and son, and to show this kindness to the son of his old female friend just makes him even greater of a character. You do not NEED to be blood-related to a person to impress such kindness, admirability and drive for strength and honor onto them. This retcon literally bothered me throughout the movie.
Yes, also I think she was honourable to her husband, there is no need to inject degeneracy like that, it wasn't THAT common before, it was very rare, you assume people are faithful, there was a past with Maximus, it seems the father disapproved of them before which is why they didn't end up together, he clearly felt betrayed by her for leaving him [I got that from their first interaction], but there was never any indication that she was unfaithful to her husband in any way, it was obvious Lucius had a father and liked his father and he looked like her. She and Maximus had something and rekindled but after both had lost their spouses ... so this honestly cheapens it for me on both ends Lucilla was never hinted as unfaithful in the original either.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who felt like that. I felt that everything we admired about Maximus as a man was cheapend by making Lucius his son. They smeared the character of Maximus in my eyes. I also felt nothing watching the movie. There was no emotional attachment. Disappointing.
"The whole retcon with Lucius now being the son of Maximus CHEAPENS Maximus' arc as an honorable man."
This happens over and over again..... *somehow Palpatine lived.*
Somehow *Newt* died so Ripley failed.
Somehow the dead Shark's relatives *remember* (???) Sherriff Brody and want revenge.
Somehow Wanda wants to bring back the magical children she let go of in the 1st place.
Somehow Logan is alive again, but don't worry - it's not the same Logan, but a different one who is otherwise.....the same.
The studio needs more money but has no ideas, so they basically vandalize the previous work.
They will never stop doing this, as you can't fix artistic bankruptcy.
@ecclesiaxxi6210 I wouldn’t say it’s surprising that she was unfaithful during her marriage. She got married at like 13 to her co-ruler since she wasn’t able to make that choice on her own and there were no feelings between them. Maximus and Lucilla were around the same age so it was easier for them to fall in love, but he became a roman general and she was the daughter of the emperor so both had their duties to follow. Eventually Maximus found himself a wife and had a son, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t love Lucilla before all this… It’s obvious from the original movie.
I just feel like she would’ve told Maximus Lucius was his son in the first movie. That way he would’ve felt more obligated to live and raise him. So this was a cheap shot at a plot twist that still made me feel nothing but confusion and annoyance lol
"Are you not entertained!!!". Classic line. I shouted that in a board meeting one time. It didn't go very well.
😂😂😂
bored meeting...
@@hoibsh21 He must have been the chair man of the bored.
That was before or after you threw your sword at the board members?
you for sure did not. but cool story bro.
Feeling nothing after seeing a $300 million dollar movie is the norm now. After 2010, most hollywood movies have slowly become hollow, empty, just spectacle and cgi. Ugh I’m just so tired of the same garbage
They got rid of all of the Males who were running Hollywood when the MeToo movement happened and then replaced them with female DEI hires. Basically, Hollywood can never come back now. If the movie industry recovers, then it won't be through Hollywood, a completely new Epicenter for film would have to be developed from scratch.
It might explain Lucius' Girl Boss Warrior wife.
@@AndriyValdensius-wi8gwnot saying it was a great movie, but come on- an archer who dies from a random enemy in the first act and exists only to provide motivation for the male lead qualifies as a 'girl boss' now?
Then don’t watch movies it’s that simple but instead people like you just complain about every little thing in life
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. So, Ridley Scott's devotion to historical inaccuracy extends to his own stories, haha.
THIS!
They nodded towards Lucius being the son of Maximus in early trailers exactly 25 years ago, the files are also out now aswell stating the identity of his father was labeled as “mysterious” people should know this already, and your a little off i get your points but, while Lucila and Maximus were secretly together and already making love she was forced into a marriage and since he was a general of her father they’re relationship couldn’t be made known anyway so they had to break apart now fast forward 9 months into the forced marriage Lucius is born due to the secret love before the marriage so she makes it as if it’s the “husbands” and while she’s “married” Maximus had moved on and has his own family now which is why commodus says he really hurt you didn’t he (referring to Maximus) and Lucila replies “no more than i him” or something close meaning they broke apart hurting each other when they both moved on
Edit: also i wouldn’t imply so much on Maximus’ honor if we’re going that way atleast remember when he kissed Lucila in his cell whilst still mourning the loss of his family
And it sounds like a man who didn’t know he had a son, you do remember she never told Maximus Lucius was his son, hell she didn’t even tell Lucius until Gladiator II I mean seriously though it was always heavily implied and understood Lucius father was an enigma that they finally made clear in the sequel although some of us already knew…the movie has been out 25 years counting this year so you’ve had nothing but time to figure it out and you also confused Commodus her strange brother for her deceased husband at first
@ I just got off the phone with Ridley Scott and he said they never intended for Lucius to be the son of Maximus until he decided to make a sequel. Originally, the film was supposed to take place directly after the events of the first film showing the power struggle between the senators ruling as a republic and the rise of another Caesar who would end up throwing the senators into the colosseum along with anyone who resisted his rule including Lucilla . Lucius would watch his mother get eaten by lions before being made to fight as a child gladiator along with the children of the senators setting the stage for another epic revenge film. However, soon after production began, I woke up.
Lead actor has no gravitas, no charisma.
Needed an actor who was believable for such a strong part...especially if they wanted to constantly compare to Crowe's original.
Yes. He didnt have anything to make him standout at all.
Who would you replace him with? How about you give a name of an actor you would like to see instead of the one that was casted because you sound like a little kid complaining about not getting their Dino nuggets
@@brianalex5083 Dino nuggets ? You sound a little butthurt. You sure you dont have a crush on that actor ?...He was seriously out of his depth with absolutely no gravitas to be playing a lead actor role. Should have been cast as an extra.
I just watched it and I said the same thing; Russell was angry most of the movie, but this guy was laughing a lot; bad acting!
Marianna was not entertained! 😂
I mean... I was, but not as entertained as I was hoping to be haha
i'm actually speachless about the mutant monkeys...this movie doesn't look serious to me. it kinda looks like a high budget parody
That monkey scene was just awful. It was especially bad when the main character screamed at one and it yelled back.
As usual, it's not the cgi and special effects that make a movie. It's the story and character development that most important.
My favourite part of the film was when Caracalla appoints his spider monkey as first pro-consul.
BUT SHARKS IN THE COLOSSEUM
Ridley is just asking for that "movie jumped the shark" comment at this point
Hey fam
We all know u two hang out together
They’re gonna need a bigger colosseum! 🦈
Did they ever capture Sharks..... me brain good! comes to mind
Bro I didn’t even feel anything when Lucilla died. That’s how much I didn’t connect with it.
A movie in 2024 being just okay is an absolute win these days lol.
We could also include music, videogames, publishing, the internet, politicians, etc.
Depends. Do you watch a lot of indie films or just Hollywood?
The thing is, a Asian 7/10 is MILES better than a western 7/10, if gladiator 2 is a 7/10 then I urge you to watch Korean and Japanese movies and shows😂
@@SaberRexZealot both are contaminated with the mindvirus.
It Didn't bring you in the story. The original you felt Maximus pain
very true
Saw it yesterday and felt like, it was not a second part, but a poor remake of the original. The audience were laughing (me included) at the last scene with Denzel , that's how unconvincing he was. I think Denzel is a great actor in general, but for this role, he was not a good choice, he didn't embody a man from ancient Rome....
conclusion is that there are classics that shouldn't be touched. The original Gladiator is a masterpiece with amazing cast, music and original plot.
Had the same experience with the ending, watching in Imax. Not a pleased crowd in my theatre
Why because he’s Black?
@himoverthere6716 Yes, Rome was European white. It was not the diverse mixing pot that the Western world is today.
@@markgalushkin7854 You clearly don’t know your history. Might I suggest looking into it a little further and not basing it on fictitious movies.
@@himoverthere6716 No because he always plays the same guy. Training day in Rome.
You can’t paint the same Mona Lisa twice and expect to feel the same way you did when you saw the original.
it was never going to be as good as the original
Well of course, the first one is regarded as one of the best movies of all time... it will be extremely hard for any movie to reach that to begin with lmao
@@yukimamapogiii So true
Not being as good as the original and being mediocre are vastly different things. This film is mediocre.
Especially, when you consider the best elements are when it harkens back to the original. So much so, that it uses the foundations of the original as a crutch. Barely limping along.
This film will be lost amidst the sands of time. Whereas the original became that much more legendary, simply because this sequel didn't measure up.
@@kh7688 Ridley Scott confirmed a third movie might happen hehehe
@@yukimamapogiii And that will be as bad, if not worse than the sequel.
It's refreshing to see a review that aligns with my own thoughts. I've come across so many glowing reviews of Gladiator 2 that I couldn't quite believe it!
Russell Crowe one and only forever❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
I was so bored. The CGI monkeys took me out and I left the cinema.
while watching G II i thought to myself if the guy running the projector interrupted the movie and said "hey guys were just gonna play the original Gladiator. cool?" everyone would've cheered
The first movie was a romance, the second a political story. Think this movie equal to the first. Denzel role and performance was center of movie and he delivered.
"Think this movie equal to the first" 😂🤣😂
After 24 years, we did get a lesser copy of the original, while watching Denzel singlehandedly kill Geta & Caracalla, which was totally absurd. She's right, it all didn't “feel” and Lucilla's death was terribly handled.
Save yourself the money and go watch the first one if you're really wanting a good epic. You won't get your money's worth on the ticket price and popcorn. But a $4 rental (right now) for the 2004 version is instantly going to get you a better time/money value in every single way.
I totally agree
Ridley’s movies as good as they look rarely have emotional depth or something to really care about. He gets lucky from time to time but I’m not sure he likes people all that much….lol. The way she described this movie is how I felt about the first Gladiator honestly.
I haven’t seen it yet, but if I heard correctly that there are sharks in the coliseum… we can’t even get tiger or bull or great whites sharks into the biggest aquariums today. Nitpick, but still.
Thank you. I watched it yesterday and I relate to everything you said about the film.
I completely agree about Paul. He lacks that energy.
If Paul has an acting passion like Austin Butler ugh! This is Paul's First time, looking forward to future roles
It’s in Russell Crowe’s eyes. He has a on screen command presence, and it wasn’t his height or his build. Because in gladiator Russell Crowe was not some muscle bound tall giant, He was an average height man, yes he was in shape but he wasn’t ridiculous. But he had a very stowed away personality but you could feel his anger, you could feel his sorrow, You could feel his need for vengeance. He just has that really good acting with his facial expressions and his eyes. Like there’s a small scene in the first movie right before the battle, Maximus is looking at a little bird. You can tell for that small little moment he’s at peace and appreciating the beauty of nature, He almost has like a child like smile on his face of fascination and happiness, I don’t think this other actor could pull this off.
Russell Crowe was just a gift to the screen of our times.
Couldn’t feel Russell Crowe’s anger at all in that one either. Felt too forced like he was trying to be a white knight.
Denzel was better, but Maximus is still great
Movies were once an event.. They were a special time for us all.. Now we are fed media 24 hours a day, we are numb to events such as school shootings, devastating disasters and on and on. I think Hollywood has changed for the worse, that is for sure. But I think we as a society have become shells of our own existence , so movies don't seem to touch our souls because we have lost our souls along the way.. Welp, I'm off to try and snag some likes on social media. cheers everyone!
I guess Ridley Scott missed one of the concepts of the original 'Gladiator'; that being, "Win the crowd."
I'm not shocked that 'Gladiator II' will fall like the Roman Empire itself. ;)
I don’t even want to watch this. Gladiator never should have gotten a sequel. Unless it was that insane one where he goes to hell or whatever ha
It isn’t a bad film and the performances are pretty good. 7/10 imo
It was a bad film. 3/10.
How would you know if you did not watch it....
Dealing with the afterlife was Ridley Scott's idea for the sequel back in 2001. He even wanted to bring back Maximus somehow. Kind of like Obi-Wan from the OG Star Wars.
I just came out of this movie, it’s terrible! Skip it and save your money & time
great balanced review. They denigrated the original Gladiator, nobody wanted this sequel, how do you improve on a near perfection with story, characters (and you failed to mention it, Marianna) utterly stunning musical score. One example, the scene when Commodus asks for his name. As Russell Crowe turns and removes his helment, there is perfect words and background music.."My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius, father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife, and I will have my vengeance in this life or the next ".This is what makes epic movies EPIC. Still gets chills at this scene. My fav movie.
I walked out of the cinema… it felt like I was watching 300:Rise of an Empire, mixed with that Amazon prime gladiator show… Glad Denzel had fun, but we didn’t need a sequel!
I don't get how you can watch Denzel parade an emperor's head around with max rizz and feel nothing.
Loved the first Gladiator like most people. Watched Gladiator 2 and it just felt like a hollow echo of the first film. Same basic plot, but without the charm, charisma, and magic.
It's not a disaster, but it doesn't bring nearly enough new to the table to justify its existence.
Loving everything you do so much. Please continue to feed us more obscure content as well. That and your unique opinion on film is so refreshing. I genuinely love your work.
I agree, it could have been something way more but it settles just for being an action spectacle and nothing more.
I'm baffled that the best story they could come up with was just a copy past of the basics of the first film
@ImpressionBlend the Gladiator 2 script by Nick Cave seemed more original and wacky than this!
@@ImpressionBlend the force awakens enters the chat😂
No one was cooler than Y2K Russell Crowe in Gladiator. His performance gives me goosebumps every time. Add Richard Harris, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, and one of the best film scores of all time, and the mind boggles that Ridley would want to make a sequel. Especially a bad one. Ugh 😣
Agree. Wasent bad but only average.It felt pretty surface level a few ridiculously over the top action scenes and tried to hard to immitate some of the types of scenes from the first. Lacked carachter depth and story depth that made the first so good. Visuals and atmosphere were beautiful. Denzel definitely stood out in moments. But overall the carachters still lacked depth compared to the first.
The lead actor looked like Logan Paul and I couldn’t unsee it. He was terrible, the twin emperors were terrible. The movie lacked depth and basically was the same lines and plot as the first one.
Twould be a better movie if Lucius was a werewolf.
That would be so gloriously gay!
My name is Phallus Maximus, son of Biggus Dickus.
🤣🤣🤣
Grandson of Phlacid Panius
Monty please come back 😢
Where is Suketh Dikus?
And Father of Collossus Cockus.
Boring film and childish script (seriously, either AI or a middle-school trainee wrote this) that limited the actors' performances (with the exception of Washington they all looked like wooden caricatures of what Victorians thought romans were like).
And the action...it was usual Hollywood action. It just feels cheaply rehashed by now. Boring.
Watched it in cinemas and now I want those 3 hours of my life back. Most boring film I've watched in years.
Gladiator 2 will never compare to Gladiator which was epic 🤩 in it’s own unique way. There was no need to even have a part 2 in the first place. The ending to Gladiator was perfect 👌🏻
It's true, that ending was exactly what it needed to be
@@ImpressionBlend I agree. Maximus went to join his wife and son in the Afterlife, and Commodus was ignored and forgotten.
@@VladislavBabbitt Commodus was killed by Maximus and that was the revenge fulfilled before Maximus died himself. Great movie.
@@melodychest9020 Commodus in the movie was a coward. In real Roman History he was also a worthless Emperor.
In this movie. Maximus died well and was properly honoured.
Ridley Scott’s movies at least tried for historical accuracy in the past. The Duelists is one of the most accurate period films ever made. Now he just couldn’t care less about the content of his films.
I think it’s totally fair to hold a director of his caliber up to comparison with his previous work. It’s disappointing to hear this, and it should have been Ridley nurturing the movie to form even more so than other directors do.
Sharks in the Colosseum? Seriosly? How were the sharks captured and transported to Rome with so much seawater? With this in mind I have no intentions to watch this movie. What is happening to Ridley Scott?
Just watched the original Gladiator today again and the whole cast was brilliant. For any successful movie the villain has to be really good and boy the "crazy" Commodus by Joaquin Phoenix was too good and he has carried with that iconic crazy streak is other movies too. The movie had so much emotion that Russell Crowe just literally breathed to life. The music was awesome too and really touched a nerve. Ok, so I will go and see Gladiator II for the fun of it but I already know the original movie cannot be beat by a hundred miles.
This felt like a LifeTime made for TV movie with a bigger budget for the visuals but a smaller part of that budget for the script. It's an odd way to describe it but it was both slow at time and rushed at the same time. The villains were just annoying... maybe that's why the story felt a little disjointed. On the Denzel's character, I actually felt his Training day character was just copy and pasted into this movie. Sure it worked but it was a let down the way it resolved.
I just watched this movie and this is a very accurate review
You nailed it! I also felt nothing and was just reminded throughout how much better the original was.
FINALLY I NEEDED A GIRL TO MAKE MOVIE REVIEWS
Really makes me mad, fighting giant monkeys and riding giant rhinoceros. Trying to appeal to teenagers with short attention spans rather than portraying historical accuracy.
Best Ridley Scott movie for me is ,, A good year “, i find myself rewatching it at least once a year !!!
Totally random, but are you German?
I walked out 40 mins in. The problem I had is Denzel Washington is playing a character in 200 A.D. But he still acts like it's the movie Training Day. I love Denzel but he’s typecasted as either a cop or drug dealer character, not a slave owner in 200 A.D. Rome. Also, the pacing of story was too quick. In the original, Marcus loathes over the death of his family and is resistant to comply as a slave until he’s finally pushed. This movie, ok my wife and land were murdered and slaughtered. Put me into slavery and open the doors up so I can be a gladiator.
Ridley deciding to shoot 'Gladiator 2' on a digital camera for the sake of convenience makes it look like a Netflix streaming movie with that actors-doing-cosplay look 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 alone 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.
Digitally shot films can be beautiful. _The Batman_ and _Dune 1.2_ (both shot by Fraser, admittedly) look real and stunning.
Personally, I've no interest in _Gladiator 2_, because unless the story is about Maximus and Lucilla, the story is finished. And Mescal's mullet is ugly AF.
@@KnarfStein Agree that Lucias's hair didn't do him any favours, they should've done a completely fresh story with brand new characters instead of drawing and inviting as many comparisons as possible with the first one in my opinion and trying to make it a direct sequel, 'Twisters' is a great example of how this can be done well. I find that digital visibly dates a movie very quickly, whereas if you watch movies shot on film from any period, for example Lawrence of Arabia or Alien from long ago with Challengers or Oppenheimer very recently, both sets of movies have the same visually timeless quality to them, despite each set of movies having been made many decades apart. Looking at recent digital entries compared to their predecessors like Furiosa vs Road Warrior, Matrix Resurrections vs The Matrix, Jurassic World, vs Jurassic Park, Phase 4 vs Phase 1, The Hobbit vs LOTR, Horizon vs Open Range, Independence Day 2 vs Independence Day, The Dial of Destiny vs Raiders of the Lost Ark, Alien Covenant vs Alien and Fincher's The Killer vs Seven all in 4k, the difference in visual quality is still very noticeable. Comedies and Horror movies especially have suffered from digital - I watched both 'Totally Killer' and 'Ghosted' last year and it just looked like actors doing cosplay vs movies in the same genres shot on film like 'A Quiet Place 2' and 'Wedding Crashers.' Digital has slightly improved over the years though. 'I'm Your Woman' is the most impressive use of the format that I've seen so far. Some shots look very close to film but it's not there yet. Some of the dialogue and colosseum scenes in 'Gladiator 2' even looked like b-roll / making of footage.
Bingo! After watching G2, I went home and watched clips from 1492 Conquest Of Paradise to wash the bad taste out.
Almost everything is shot digitally and has been for quite sometime. The CGI in the first one wasn’t that great.
Unfortunately I completely agree. Great review!
The gladiator movie needed to be left alone with its Oscar trophy 🏆. They should have done Gladiator ll with another story not associated or having connection with the first one.
You ABSOLUTELY NAILED this review 1000%! I'm not even going to read the other comments... You literally spoke, communicated and revealed EXACTLY the appropriate reality of this film, Ridley's failure to match grade with G1 and yet state it wasn't a flop, it's just decent entertainment. Again, you nailed this review! I could not for any value, rewrite myself anything different in this review. Visually stunning, silly CGI apes and purposeless main actor with little feeling. Boom. Done. LOL.
Romans did flood the coliseum to represent naval battles, but that was decades before this time. When these movies happen they had already built all the tunnels and polys system underneath the arena and they never flooded it again since that's where they kept the animals and it would have been a mess to get the water out of all of that.
One thing is to take creative licenses, and another very different one is to do things that make you say "this is just stupid".
This puts my thoughts into words quite well. I was entertained. Sure. Denzel is absolutely fantastic. But it just doesn't really have the impact it intends to have and both Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal - I usually really like them both - don't quite fit in here for me. I am glad that I made my rewatch of the first one a few months ago, so there was at least some distance. I was impressed how well it holds up. This new one will probably not stay in our minds as long. Still, hats off to Sir Ridley for making a movie as big and energetic as Gladiator 2 at his age. And there is no sign of him slowing down.
One last thing: What the hell were those monkeys?!?
Giving this film a 4/10 is being very generous. Story line with lucius could have been done so spectacularly, however its an absolute flop, from using actors who remind you of other films/series, CGI was embarrassing and acting all round was mediocre. Such a travesty. GLADIATOR will forever be the only masterpiece. This new film was shattered into disappointing pieces of all scenes and script. Hollywood is falling and failing and this film drives that home.
Wait OK OK I got one:
"Alien vs Gladiator: Straight Outta Crapton"
SETUP: This time, the Alien is an illegal alien who eats pets (but CARTOON pets) to pull in the masses of maga sub 80iQ fans, and Gladiator is the name of a trash compactor (The GE Gladiator Mach 4 or just "Gladiator" to internal management at GE) but it has expressive and even empathic eyes animated on its control panel, ya know, for the kids.
STORY
When the Gladiator model is discontinued due to its terrible selection of colors and door that sometimes flies open suddenly injuring children, in a sad turn it realizes it is unloved, and it sets out on an epic journey and after a montage of sad city scenes in rain (Think: Blade Runner but with Burt Bachrach's "Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head" playing in the background).
When Gladiator falls asleep at a spectacular gothic train station we fade to black but then the action starts when he is suddenly bolt upright woken up in a POV shot with the Alien spray painting it a kind of pleasant mauve, and then plugging it in behind a potted fern by the magazine rack.
It goes on like that for a while until Frances Ford Coppolla injects 130 million into it to allow the studio to hire a midget in a rubber alien suite and a LOT of cocaine. So, THEN...
(DOOR FLIES OPEN)
"NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!"
I dreadfully feel the same way
Saw it tonight. At the end, 1 person in the theatre started applauding. 1...
I understand you Marianna, I was at the movie theater a couple of times this month to watch something else and every time during Gladiator 2 trailer I felt apathy. No excitement, no curiosity, no disappointment or annoyance even. Just apathy.
I just watched it. Was amazing.
I agree with you. Just watched it yesterday and came out feeling nothing.
Terrible movie.. waste of money and time. Silly and impossible to take serious..
When Pedro Pascal would not play the role of Tribun Acacius but the role of Lucius Verus, than we would have a more authentic Gladiator II.
After watching Gladiator 2, we realized after Lucilla's admission to Lucius that Maximus cheated on his wife to sire him with her - that Maximus's famous dialogue in the original should've rather been:
“My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, and loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius (while banging his daughter).
Deadbeat father to a murdered son, cheating husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next”
So much for Maximus's "strength and honor" from the first film.
Denzel Washington meanwhile replayed Alonzo Harris from Training Day as Macrinus in ancient Rome.
The story in Gladiator 2 is crap and just an overCGIed rehash of the original.
Horrible movie, mediocre dribble,no substance no real friendship no bonding, it wasn't enough of the twins, I felt absolutely nothing from none of the characters. Denzel was King for 5 minutes😂😂😂😂😂 straight trash I'm call it how it is. 💯 💪🏾
Carracalla was a murderous psycho, but actually quite effective, he managed to be emperor for 19 years
I watched Gladiator 2 and, honestly, I found it quite banal. Once again, we see the stereotypical portrayal of Rome as corrupt and decadent, a depiction that is all too common in Anglo-Saxon productions. Unlike the first Gladiator, which I liked so much that I bought it on Blu-ray years ago, this sequel felt terrible to me in every respect: from its uninspired plot to its poor attention to historical accuracy. While it’s true that the Roman Empire faced moments of crisis, it was still the cornerstone of civilization and a beacon for humanity at the time. For my personal taste, this film failed to do justice to that historical period.
Watched it last weekend, only time I got emotional was when they showed flashbacks from the first movie and Hans Zimmer’s score kicked in, and that have everything to do with the greatness from the original and nothing to do with the new…
Even the advertisement seems to have Pedro Pascal fighting himself 😂
If Denzel apparently "steals" every scene he's in, how does that a good "supporting" actor make?
Just got done watching this movie. I wanted to love it too. I just thought it was OK. I thought every point you made in this review was dead on.
Plot: Guy taking revenge for his boss babe wife after he placed her in harms way on a battlefield. Tell me again, why were we meant to feel sorry for Lucius?
And we, the viewer, feel nothing for the loss of his wife or his redemption arc because she is killed at the very beginning, and we've had no time to feel the connection between them.
I don't know why, but Paul Mescal didn't make me believe in him being a leader here. He took stoicism seriously I guess instead of a Man seeking revenge.
@@cobra8888I agree. He's a good actor but he was badly cast in this role. He excels in dramatic roles, not the action thriller genre.
He didn't place her anywhere.
In that culture and society, she was a soldier and an equal on the battlefield.
@@leonardobraynen1524Awesome answer. Chances are she wanted to fight on her own accord.
I’ve watched the original Gladiator movie a bunch of times. When I heard there’s a sequel, I knew it wouldn’t be as good as the first one. But I decided to give it a shot because Ridley Scott is behind it. I was shocked to find out that it was even worse than I thought! The main character, who was supposed to be in rage, was always smiling. It really annoyed me because I wasted my time and money. The title is correct, I felt nothing. Ridley Scott is too old now for directing.
So...it's pretty much like everything Ridley Scott does now, all empty spectacle and absolutely no substance/heart. He and James Cameron should swap notes.
The colloseum being flooded I can understand. But "who will catch the sharks and have the titanium cajones to carry them to the colloseum"?
In the interest of being real, should have kept the sharks out of it.
Thank you to all the people in the comments. Just saved 19.99. I was literally about to order it and decided to check out the reviews first.
Watched it last night, and frankly I agree word for word with you. Absolutely spectacular, entertaining and impressive. But Mescal does not pierce the screen like Crowe did, and ultimately Lucius does not connect emotionally with the spectator as he should. A missed opportunity , methinks. A lesser version, albeit still a great cinematic experience overall.
Super sad that Denzel Washington did not get the Oscar nomination for this role. He was the BEST part of this movie
He was over-the-top awful
You're not supposed to FEEL anything. You're just supposed to buy the ticket or rent the PPV. Once they've tricked you yet again into doing that, their job is done.
I did feel something. I was disappointed after watching this movie. I'm glad I didn't pay to see this in the theater. I rewatched Gladiator prior to this movie. This movie did not come even close to the original. Not even Denzel could save this for me. 😢
Gladiator 2 made more than part 1 y'all....I know, I'm just as shocked as everyone. I guess Denzel's performance was too powerful to ignore.
I haven’t seen it yet, but if I heard correctly that there are sharks in the coliseum… we can’t even get tiger or bull or great whites sharks into the biggest aquariums today. Nitpick, but still. Hippos and crocodiles on the other hand, that would work.
Yes there are sharks in the coliseum. Bad CGI sharks as well.
Just like Joker. This didnt need a sequel.
she feels nothing watching a movie. i feel nothing
The revenge didn't hit because his wife died in battle as opposed to being murdered like in Gladiator
Not gonna lie, that title is actually the WORST thing you can say about a piece of media, if you ask me.
Make me happy, make me sad, make me mad, even. But for goodness’ sake, make me feel SOMETHING. Otherwise, why do you even exist?
So far, it looks as though "Wicked" is set to score biggest this week, both in box-office terms and critically- it will be fun to follow both films' progress, in any case.
Releasing "Gladiator II" and "Wicked" the same weekend was certainly a CHOICE, I guess they're hoping for that Barbenheimer effect?
@@ImpressionBlend Looks that way- a friend just brought up to me both pics could do spectacular business during Thanksgiving- point taken and it will be interesting to watch (I'm on board for "Wicked" first, then probably will be "Glad II" check out the other movie).
the action was separated by these super long winded narratively-repetitive dialogue scenes that went on way too long. I didn't buy the main character, he didn't feel imposing. It might have been because he just never got a good backstory aside from the guy from 300 telling him he "learned everything they had taught him" or some similar trope. He felt like a major league 2 character.
There weren't any stakes because we don't really care about lucious.
I dozed off several times and I almost left the theater when they filled the coliseum with water and sharks, like how insulting to our intelligence is that scene? And how many times does he have to grab the sand off the ground before we say "yes, we liked the first one better"
For all historians gladiator 1 had factual inaccuracies as well! It’s a fucking MOVIE😂😂
Everybody knew Denzel would carry this movie
The whole time i thought "this rome sucks, why the hell do i wanna be spending 2 and a half hours here" it really felt like ridley wanted us to hate Rome, and for me tbats never going to happen, many of the amazing things we have today started in Rome. Yet ridley just wanted to focus on how badly it smelt🤨. Do i think majority of people will like this movie? Yes, but anyone who remembers true historical fantasys like original gladiator, Troy, the last samurai, where u have hot actors and actresses, epic Choreography, sweeping score, incredible production design, u get lost into the world. Then U realise how pale this movie is in comparison because i couldnt wait to leave the world
I loved Gladiator mainly because of the story and drama. The action was just icing on the cake. If the story takes a backseat on Gladiator 2, we all know it's inferior to the original.
Gladiator already has a great spiritual successor in Vinland Saga.
There’s a name drop scene just like the one Maximus gives, and it’s every bit as epic.