I don’t have the time and energy to go into detail here. So I’ll make this as short as possible. This was without a doubt the most disappointing cinema experience of the year. After the trailers and from what I have heard about the movie I considerably lowered by expectations. I did not expect another masterpiece like the original. Just some fun and harmless entertainment was all I was looking for. But Gladiator II was just plain bad. Pretty much everything about it was bad. In my opinion it is Ridley Scott’s worst movie. And that comes from a huge fan and defender of the man. But after this debacle, I’d say it is time for a well-earned retirement. He has given so much and he deserves it.
I don’t even know where to start. After 24 years, all I can say is that this was not a story worth telling. It’s a step by step rehash of the original most of the time. What they did was take the character of Maximus and split him into two. Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal play the two half’s of Maximus and neither of them comes even close to capturing the intensity, charisma and on screen presence of Russell Crowe. Mescal in particular failed to impress me at all here. I have rarely seen such a bland one-noted lead in a big production movie. He might be a good actor, but he was sorely miscast here.
But there is little shame in him failing because even great actors like Denzel Washington gave stunningly bad performances. I heard that some people consider Washington as an Oscar contender for this. If that is the case, I don’t even know what planet I’m living on anymore. Because this was the worst performance the great actor has ever given. The biggest reason for the actors failing is the extremely poorly written script. It is the worst director Scott ever had to work with. The dialogue is stale, repetitive and nonsensical. The structure is poor and the so is the editing.
The movie never flows or builds up any momentum. Not even in the expensive but still unimpressive and CGI heavy action sequences. For two and a half hours the movie stumbles from one laughable bad scene to the next. I also get the feeling that a lot of plot was left on the cutting room floor. The evil twins are nothing more than bad caricatures and Washington rise to power is utterly unbelievable. He won two bets and suddenly was the new Emperor? Ludicrous writing.
I want to give the movie some breaks. It is an impressive production and from a technical standpoint (costumes, sets, most of the effects) it is well-made. But with this weak a script, Ridley Scott just utterly fails to tell a cohesive, relevant and engaging story. It is poorly acted to the point of miscast in some instances, the editing does not flow at all and even the music is only a shadow of the original.
I can only describe this movie as a total failure. It is one of the few instances where I wish I had not seen it. At its worst, it lessens the impact and stains the memory of the original. When I think about Gladiator I don’t want to have any memories of this belated and totally unnecessary sequel in my mind. The first Gladiator is a masterpiece and one of the biggest jewels n the crown of Sir Ridley Scott. It is and will forever be part of movie history.
This sequel on the other hand is like a bad dream I’m trying to forget. I’ll give this movie two stars out of respect for one of my favorite directors. Just know, it felt like a one star movie to me. I take absolutely now joy in trashing this movie but until yesterday I would not have believed that Ridley Scott was capable of making such a bad film. I really hope he will stop spoiling his own cinematic legacy. I heard he is planning a Gladiator III. The though alone makes me shutter.
