Gladiator II

By Joanna Langfield

A cinematic orgy to be sure, but this visual feast might leave you hungry for more.

Screenwriter David Scarpa reunites with director Ridley Scott for this sequel, acknowledging the 24 years since the first, and very popular, hit. They introduce us to Lucius, a young warrior whose wife is killed as they battle the conquering Romans. Lucius is out for revenge and, even as prisoner, finds the strength to work the Medieval system and take vengeance on those he feels who deserve it.

Well, the plot thickens. Lucius discovers who he really is, finds out that the General he wants to kill may not be who he thought and lots of other standard plot points that usually accompany these kind of stories. Nothing new to think about. The real star of this show is not what it says, but how it looks.

And it looks fantastic. I saw the film in IMAX, which enhanced the you-are-there quality of the impeccably designed sets, from palaces to dungeons to the very bloody battlefields and jousts. There does not appear to be one inch of what we see that isn’t carefully and fully conceived and staged. If the majority of the budget on this film went for just that, it was well worth it.

But, yes, there are actors, too, endeavoring to tell us a tale amongst all the eye candy. I could see Joseph Quinn trying to do some interesting stuff, as does the always winning Pedro Pascal and Connie Nielsen. The gentle intelligence Paul Mescal has brought to other roles takes a back seat here to buff and brawn. But none of them can hold a candle, or our attention, when Denzel Washington is on the screen. Maneuvering and manipulating away as the political operative Macrinus, he seems to be having a blast. And, watching him, so do we.