Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Gladiator II review says there are plenty of alt-Rome sword and sandals thrills, but few emotional chills in Ridley Scott’s intended epic. 

Gladiator II picks up some 20 years after the original, the Academy Award winning Gladiator, left off. The celebrated warrior Maximus (Russell Crowe) is long gone but not forgotten, and Rome is in crisis. Young, evil twin emperors are ruling a starving population, and it’s apparent that someone must rise to release the the Romans from tyranny. 

Those of you who know even a little something about the Roman Empire (like everyone) will quickly become aware that director Ridley Scott has created an alternate world Ancient Rome, adding myriad contrivances like female soldiers and senators, maniacal sibling emperors, and sharks for added wow factor.

And their presence, as well as myriad other diversions from historical documentation, did add dimension, excitement, surprise and awe to the production. Those are among Scott’s fortes. FYI, the Colosseum actually did host rhinos and naval battles.

Gladiator II review — Ridley Scott took risks

Scott took quite a few risks with his sequel, among them selecting the relatively little known Paul Mescal as the new gladiator who could rise and lead Rome back to its former glory. Mescal’s performance is adequate, but he’s no Russell Crowe. To Mescal’s credit, he also didn’t get the inspiring, well-written lines or story that Crowe did either.

As a matter of fact, no one got the same well-written lines and story in Gladiator II as the original afforded them. Sure, Denzel Washington had a prize role and did it absolute justice. In fact, he steals the whole show. Pedro Pascal and Connie Nielsen are under utilized at best.

Gladiator II ends up as a special effects tour de force, with epic battles and gripping mano a mano combat. But will you be moved? Probably not. And there are precious few surprises, making its 2 hour and 28 minute run time a bit of a slog.

Interestingly enough, its predecessor had an even longer run time of 2 hours and 34 minutes, but you didn’t hear everyone complaining about that.

It seems that this time around, Scott sacrificed soul for spectacle. There is a decent amount excitement here, but precious little emotion.

Rated R

2 Hours 28 Minutes

If this Gladiator II review inspires you to march on over to the cineplex, get times and tickets at Fandango.com.

Lisa Johnson Mandell’s Gladiator II review says there are plenty of alt-Rome sword and sandals thrills, but few emotional chills in Ridley Scott’s intended epic.