Gladiator II
Gladiator II
Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 1, 2025
“Dondas ain’t got sh🤩 on me!”
When Ridley decided to start with an opening credit sequence, I knew we were so back. The action and spectacle is top notch. Literally nobody does it like Sir Ridley Scott. The animals go crazy in this. The baboons are absolutely vicious. And for that naval battle in the Colloseum….they’re gonna need a bigger boat. Where the film falters a bit is in David Scarpas script. Not bad by any means, but it’s not nearly as strong of a story arc as the original and I feel like the final act in particular could have had a stronger resolution. Love the cast. Denzel brings it. Mescal, Pascal, and Nielson are solid. Actually kind of loved Fred Hechinger as one of the twin tyrants, Joseph Quinn too. Looks stunning in IMAX and overall the film was much better than I was expecting it to be. See it. Keep Ridley in that director’s chair for as long as humanly possible.