Somewhere in the middle of the movie Gladiator 2, somebody makes the eponymous quote for the umpteenth time - "Marcus Aurelius had a dream that was Rome"... To which somebody speaks up and says.... "And what was the dream again?"
And that, to my mind, is the essence of the movie. Good visual effects, great in parts, as may be expected. Some very riveting action sequences. Paul Mescal as the Gladiator lacks the intensity and charisma of Russell Crowe (but admittedly a tough act to follow so lets cut him some slack). But overall we have no sense of gravitas or purpose. The difficult circumstances that brought Hanno aka Lucius to the arena do not seem to be reflected in his periodic grinning.
We lose all hope in screenplay - especially in the second half - that is resplendent more of Age of Empires than serious intrigue, and interspersed with characters like Ravi (the doctor from Varanasi who is communicating between two Roman armies). Or the key character Macrinus (Denzel Washington), who suddenly, in a paroxysm of ambition, takes on the mission of overthrowing the Roman monarchy altogether. All in all, extremely confusing second half.
But well, given the movie is so close to my heart and that of a few kindred men, I would still say go and watch the movie. Do not expect this movie to hold a candle to Gladiator 1 in any manner, but rather a very different movie, a very light Gen Z-style Gladiator Lite version
14/20
