MovieChat Forums > Gladiator II (2024) Discussion > Are you not entertained?

Are you not entertained?

posted 22 days ago by fani (446)
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Summary : Good movie but lacks the punch of Gladiator.

So Gladiator is a blockbuster epic and one of the best movies ever made. Russell Crowes command presence and measured demeanor, acting and the power and force of his aura, his mere presence just exudes awesomeness and comes across so well. The movie had so many memorable dialogs and scenes. Truly one of the top 5 Hollywood movies ever made (for me and many others).
Russell truly earned his Oscar there.

Gladiator 2 continues it with really good actors in Mescal, Pascal, Washington, Nielsen and others. There’s a lot of homage to the original and a lot of references to it openly. Even the general theme of the movie follows that of the first one with an epic battle, being captured and brought into gladiator games, rising there and earning trust and eventually becoming powerful and famous and overthrowing the emperors and bringing the next version for Rome.

It tried very hard to embody the “the general who became a slave who became a gladiator who defied an emperor”. It fell flat in many places but it tried hard and at times it did do well.

Till the naval battle scene it was going very well but then it felt like a bit over the top with the sharks and boats in the colosseum which was odd and jarring.

The acting was good but not great. The plot was simple but they tried to spice it up. The directing was ok but missing the epicness of first one. I’m not sure what but it felt like a TV show more than a movie. Maybe it could have done better as a Game of Thrones or Rings Of Power like series.

Overall it answered my question “are you not entertained”. I was entertained.

I rate this a good 7/10. Worth watching but don’t look for the gladiator epicness here.

[–] Jones70 (6649) 19 days ago

I was very entertained by it, screw the haters, first Ridley Scott movie since American Gangster that I would actually consider getting on blu ray.

[–] fani (446) 19 days ago

Yes, the movie was entertaining. It is a movie. It's point it to entertain with a story. It did that.
Comparing against the first is unavoidable due to the first one being such an epic movie. Russell Crowe's command presence, measured deep-voiced responses like right at the beginning when the catapults are being moved by Quintus who says "move them out of range" and he says "Range is good" in a deep but authoritative manner. No screaming, shouting nothing. Just a firm "range is good". Some people naturally have that aura. Crowe has that.

The other characters also had that for their role - Connie Nielsen too had the command presence not just because she is the emperor's daughter but just Connie Nielsen having that with her "Senator, my brother is tired, I shall see to it that it is done" and "He was a soldier of Rome. Honor him".

Joaquin's childish and angry Commodus was perfection too. Gracchus as well. Oliver Reed's casting was sublime with his epic lines "we are but shadows and dust Maximus.... shadows and dust"... as Maximus races on the steps.

In this movie, the actors and actresses were all good but they lacked punch through. Denzel alone punched out imo because he is well, Denzel. I thought he was connected to Juba (Djimon's role) somehow and seeking revenge but it was something else entirely.

Also missing were the looks and nods which convey a lot more than dialog like Reed responding with a forceful nod when asked if he was a Gladiator by Maximus to Maximus' stares to Nielsen's penchant chin rubbing anticipation.

And the presence of so many memorable quotable lines. Off the top of my head these are my favorites -

"My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius..."
"We are but shadows and dust"
"Am I not merciful"
"Are you not entertained? Is this not why you're here?"
"The emperor is proud to give you the barbarian horde"
"Strength and honor"
"Have you ever embraced a person dying of plague sire?"
"On my signal unleash hell"