Gladiator 2 is here and this rather unnecessary film in the grand scheme of things piqued my curiosity with sprinkles of trepidation but by the time the credits rolled on the blockbuster feature I was rather disappointed. To answer the question of Maximus Decimus Meridius ‘Are you Not Entertained?‘ Well, I was, but back in the year 2000. Here’s our Gladiator 2 IMAX review.
Ridley Scott is back in the director’s chair, a creature of habit who has delivered time and time again on the big screen and Gladiator 2 doesn’t disappoint when it comes to scale and visual appeal. Gladiator 2 in IMAX is truly stunning, the format oozes this visual vibrancy and the sound quality beams from the mightly colosseum encounters to the crisp delivery of the dialogue. The entire cinema suddenly becomes its very own cinematic colosseum of epic proportions.
Paul Mescal plays Lucius Verus, son of Lucilla and the late great Maximus (Russell Crowe) who is the rightful heir to the Roman empire but was sent into exile to help save him from danger. As a result, his throne was claimed by dual emperors.
The synopsis for the film reads as follows:
After his home is conquered by the tyrannical emperors who now lead Rome, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum and must look to his past to find strength to return the glory of Rome to its people.
With a stacked cast including a phenomenal Denzel Washington as Macrinus who single-handedly holds this entire film together from collapsing like the Fidenae amphitheatre, there is a real quality and class about Gladiator 2 in parts but its stark comparisons to the original are apparent throughout.
Whilst it feels like a very polished production as a stand-alone movie it has the unfortunate task of having the Gladiator title attached to it which already sets the bar far too high for this film to ever excel or vault above.
Hampered by such large shoes to fill Gladiator 2 seems to slip, trip and fumble its way through the story trying to recreate the magic of the original.
Becoming more of a drama than an action movie at times there are sprinkles of epicness but I feel the CGI doesn’t lend a hand or improve the film in any shape or form and the CGI sea battle inside the Colosseum borderlines the ridiculous.
Whilst Ridley Scott has expressed numerous times that his haters should ‘get a life’ I feel as though he’s getting to the stage in his career where he just doesn’t seem to care anymore and in quite large portions of Gladiator 2 this becomes apparent.
Sadly Gladiator 2 is a mere refreshed projection of a truly iconic and groundbreaking film from years gone by and the original opinions of this film not needing to be made were entirely valid.
Whilst the film lacks in almost every department the IMAX comes along and saves the day at least keeping your eyes glued to the screen in this symphony or visuals and audio combine for quite a wonderful viewing spectacle if albeit what you’re watching feels very samey, samey and seen it all before.
Some stories should just be left alone.
Our Rating
Summary
Constantly trying to recapture the magic of the original this Ridley Scott sequel certainly stumbles and falls many times with only Denzel Washington there keeping all of the pieces together with an outstanding and cast gelling performance.
