Gladiator 2: A beautiful day for Bloodshed

I’m very glad I procrastinated on writing this review, as recent events (the US Election) have added a new colour to the film. A good film speaks to the times, a great film speaks to all times. Gladiator, and its sequel, are those kinds of films.

Regardless of the Election result on November 5th, this film would have been a pertinent commentary on the life and world we want versus what we feel we can achieve, what we can change in a lifetime, what of ours will echo in eternity. Do we have enough time to fight to make a better, fairer world, or do we work with what we have, protect ourselves, fight only for our own benefit?

These are questions humanity faces always — Shakespearean stakes. No man in Hollywood can manage stakes like these better than Denzel Washington. Let us not be coy, God forbid - this is Denzel’s film. From the moment he’s shown, you know he’s not going anywhere.

As Paul Mescal’s first big scale blockbuster, he holds the film together well, and has a lot of weight on his shoulders, but the story basically asks him to tread in Russell Crowe’s footsteps, even to the very end. This is tempered by the feral, raw nature of Lucius in the arena, which feels palpably different in character to what I remember of the previous films. I can’t say it’s my favourite performance of Paul’s (All of Us Strangers, of course, is hard to top, no pun intended), or his most readable one - but it was solid work.

Before I move on from Cast, I will say there were two other, smaller but significant performances in the film that cannot be overlooked - Pedro Pascal (of course, no surprise, what did you even expect, he steals every script you give him), and Joseph Quinn, who without exaggeration bowled me over with his expression and intensity. Both had very important, pivotal functions, and though the story handled their place within it with less grace than they performed it with, they managed to put in some fantastic work.

Ultimately, this film is what it says on the tin - Gladiator 2. It’s big in scale, scope and philosophy, and is worth getting big screen tickets for. The sound design was a highlight, and incredibly well done and affecting, and it really sold everything.

The final message we’re left with is a little muddled, and in my mind didn’t fully land, but it’s entirely worth a ticket for a good time in the cinema to get out the cold and be taken away to another time and place.

There may be a piece on this film coming in the near future - once everyone’s seen it, we’ll see. I look forward to the discourse™.