Review: “Gladiator II” with Denzel Washington returns to the arena

Rome is teetering on the edge “Gladiator II” by Ridley Scott. It is alleged that its collapse is inevitable. The dream it once symbolized is dead. The once lofty ideals of the Roman Empire have deteriorated in a venal land now ruled by a pale-faced emperor.

On the throne is Geta (Joseph Quinn), who sits next to his weeping brother Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). The heart of this Rome is, in fact, the Colosseum, where crowds cheer on gladiators who fight and die. The timeless Scott feels especially at home there. The arena, stuffed with spectacle and violence, replaces the director’s own vision of the big screen: go big or go home.

This dichotomy – a failed society and its insatiable need for entertainment – provides a clever and unflattering backdrop to the “Gladiator” movies. The second part, which takes place 20 years after the events of the first film, introduces a brand new fighter to the Colosseum – a mysterious outsider named Lucius Verus, played by Paul Mescal. And to answer the inevitable query: yes. Yes, I had quite an excellent time.

“Gladiator II” just isn’t as prestigious a movie as his first film, the 2001 Best Picture winner. Rather, it’s a panoramic sword-and-sandal epic that values ​​the need for entertainment above all else. No one in Gladiator II understands this higher than Denzel Washington. His performance as Machiavellian power broker Macrinus is a pleasant mixture of robes and smiles – so compellingly over-the-top that it almost reaches Al Pacino’s ’90s standards.

Inside Rome, there are scattered interests intent on overthrowing it, including Marcus Acacius, a decorated general who has just returned from a successful campaign to capture Numidia in northwest Africa. (This siege provides a panoramic opening to the film, with the armada racing at almost NASCAR speeds towards the walled city, with towers on the bow of the boats from which you’ll be able to scale the parapets.)

Acacius is a loyal Roman, but when he learns that the emperors are only out for the blood of more territory and war, he and his wife Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) begin a plot to overthrow their brothers.

Featured Stories

In a movie where everyone keeps a secret, few stay hidden for long. The most significant of them is Lucius Verus, a warrior from Numidia who was taken prisoner and compelled to fight as a gladiator. He is the son of Lucilla and Maximus (Crowe from “Gladiator”). After the events of this film, Lucilla sent him, the heir to the empire, to Numidia to grow up outside the empire’s power struggles.

Mescal, an incredible Irish actor “After Sunset” AND “All of Us Strangers” for the first time, it easily enters the arena of blockbusters. “This is interesting,” says Makrinus, taking a look at him for the first time. Lucius Mescala is vengeful – the Roman army kills his warrior wife at the Battle of Numidia. “Rage pours out of you like milk,” says Macrinus admiringly. The glint of mischief in Mescal’s eyes gives Lucius a little bit more character than the average gladiator out for revenge.

We watch as Lucius cleverly survives arena after arena. Meanwhile, Macrinus manipulates him to divert public attention away from the emperor. It’s a wealthy, if somewhat cartoonish, tapestry of palace intrigue for which Macrinus skillfully pulls all the strings.

But the truth is, none of the machinations of power are as fascinating as the increasingly carnival-like scenes in the Colosseum. During the gladiators’ first trip there, they’re greeted by man-eating monkeys. Then it is a rider on top of an enormous charging rhinoceros. Then the piece de resistance: a flooded Colosseum stuffed with sharks. There are even small false islands covered with palm trees.

Now “Gladiator II” may not live up to it many inquiries from historians. (Some issues were also raised in connection with Scott’s recent historical epic, “Napoleon,” which was also written by David Scarpa). But this is not a movie built for accuracy. It’s designed to take just a few bits of history and inflate them into the treat and delights of watching Washington’s Macrinus flail around with a head recently free of his body.

Yes, heads are turning for Scott’s Gladiator sequel. Macrinus manages to throw Rome right into a frenzy. In fact, he does it so easily and cunningly that when things start to go improper for him, the air leaves “Gladiator II.” You cannot quite consider his recklessness after he tightened the screws so patiently and artfully.

Nevertheless, two possible successors emerge – Lucius, who has the birthright to the throne, and Macrinus, who comes into its reach solely through his own wit. Is it any wonder I used to be rooting for Macrinus the entire time? How could you not, with Washington chewing up such landscapes and making impassioned (and relatively accurate) statements like, “That, my friend, is politics!”

“Gladiator II” – premiere of Paramount Pictures. is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “strong, bloody violence.” Duration: 148 minutes. Three stars out of 4.