Director Ridley Scott revives the sword-and-sandal genre with blood, betrayal, and a battle-ready Paul Mescal
By James Verniere/Boston Movie News
Like Shakespeare’s Prospero, Ridley Scott, 87, commands the rain, wind, moon, sun, and shimmering visions with an artistry that is magic. “Gladiator II” arrives 24 years after Scott’s Academy Award-winning original film with a 36-year-old beefcake Aussie named Russell Crowe in the title role. “Gladiator II” features more lithe, no less charismatic 28-year-old Irishman Paul Mescal of the indies “All of Us Strangers” and “Aftersun.” The sequel is an example of grand-scale film-making of a kind we do not see very much anymore unless your character roster is packed with superheroes.
Set 16 years after Marcus Aurelius’s (Richard Harris) death, the latest spectacle begins with a Roman attack upon a fortress sheltering people of different races in North Africa by Roman forces led by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal). Among the defenders is a warrior we will eventually learn is Lucius (Mescal), the escaped son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) and Maximus (Crowe).
Lucius and his cohorts, including his wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen), who is killed, are defeated. Survivors are taken prisoner and eventually taken to Rome, where they are forced to fight as gladiators under the iron fist of owner Macrinus (Denzel Washington in a role inspired by one played by the late Oliver Reed ). The corrupt and sybaritic Macrinus becomes the first of Lucius’ several surrogate father figures.
The film has the pseudo-historical narrative sweep of a work by Alexandre Dumas. Opening scenes featuring a fleet of Roman biremes also recall William Wyler’s Academy Award-winning 1959 epic “Ben-Hur.” We see a mock reenactment of this battle in a flooded Colosseum later, with Lucius leading fellow gladiators as Roman citizens in the stands cheering them on and the Great White sharks circle.
In an earlier reintroduction to the Colosseum, Scott ups the ante on himself by replacing CG tigers with computer-generated rhinoceros and baboons. We’re lucky it isn’t a dragon in this post-“Game of Thrones” environment. Lucius surprises his owner by quoting Virgil. He also experiences Maximus-like black-and-white visions of Arishat being transported to the realm of the dead. Before you can say, “I am Spartacus,” Lucius and his fellow gladiators bond like ancient Roman Superglue.
Rome is led by a pair of Caligulas named Geta (Joseph Quinn, “Stranger Things”) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger, “Thelma”). We are told that the corrupt state is on the verge of collapse. Acacius, married to the bejeweled Lucilla, plots with her to take over the city with a small, nearby army at his command. Washington runs riot, swanning about in a goatee, coats of many colors, and rings on most of his fingers, devouring the scenery. The snow-white-haired Gracchus (Derek Jacobi) still serves in the Senate. A hapless, hedonist senator named Thraex (a fun Tim McInnerny) loses bets with Macrinus.
The screenplay by David Scarpa, whose work on “Napoleon” was better than many said, Peter Craig (“Top Gun: Maverick”) and David Franzoni of the original film, cleverly ties up loose ends. Many of these ancient Roman shenanigans are one step away from a Monty Python send-up. But we still like a good, old-fashioned, sword-and-sandal movie, right? Can the filmmaker play loose with the facts? Have you seen “Alien” or “Blade Runner” for chrissakes? Music by Harry Gregson-Williams is upstaged by the reuse of mournful vocal themes of Lisa Gerrard from the original film. Ultimately, Lucius takes up his father’s armor as if he hadn’t been clad in it. “GII” should rocket indie-prince Mescal into the stratosphere. In the role of Ravi, a gladiator-turned-medic who stitches up Lucius and becomes his friend, Alexander Karim (“Double Play”) also deserves a career boost. Dumbledore-ian Scott, once more shooting in Morocco and Malta, has hit ramming speed again. Alakazam.
‘Gladiator II’
Rating: R for strong, bloody violence.
Cast: Paul Mescal, Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal
Director: Ridley Scott
Writer: David Scarpa, Peter Craig, David Franzoni
Running time: 150 minutes
Where to watch: AMC Boston Common, AMC Causeway, Alamo Drafthouse Seaport, Landmark Kendall Square, and other suburban theaters.
Grade: A-
Boston Movie News 