Said simply, Gladiator II is the movie Ridley Scott would have liked to have made twenty four years ago, if CGI would have been cheaper.
It’s more or less a remake of the original but set 18 years in the future when Maximus’ son Lucius ( by Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla ) is a grown man. Hidden in Namibia, Lucius ( Paul Mescal) is taken prisoner by a tatty haired General ( Pedro Pascal) and conscripted into gladiator school where he finds out his history and decides to become his father’s son.
Unlike the original this version bounces along at a cracking rate. The set pieces are impressive, the baddie ( an ever smiling Denzel Washington ) is fit for purpose and Mescal makes for a handsome and more charming Russel Crowe character in the lead role.
Alas impressive as he is , Crowe had a on screen masculinity and a certain beauty in his original role of Maximus that Mescal lacks, and sex on legs Pedro Pascal is underused too, and looks more of a bomb site than I can after working night shifts. (Didn’t the Romans invent hair brushes?)
The film pays homage to the original’s mighty score by Hans Zimmer and to the vocals by Lisa Gerrard
But it’s still the film Ridley Scott would have made in 2000 but couldn’t.
This sounds right up my alley.
ReplyDeleteNot my type of film, but I love your review. xx
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteWill watch for this to become available in theaters here or eventually streaming. Ta, John!
ReplyDeleteHugs!