GLADIATOR II ★★★ (M) 150 minutes When a film is a hit on the scale of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator in 2000, a sequel is usually in the pipeline before long. The difficulty is that Gladiator had a fairly definite ending, with the hero Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) perishing in the Roman arena after surviving many rounds of bloody combat. Paul Mescal as Lucius, son of Russell Crowe’s Maximus, in Gladiator II.
Over the years, there’s reportedly been talk about continuing the story in a range of ways, including following Maximus into the afterlife. But at the age of 87, Scott has finally picked a road that will lead him back to Rome. Scripted by his regular collaborator David Scarpa, Gladiator II jumps forward a generation to 200AD to chronicle the exploits of Maximus’ exiled son Lucius (Paul Mescal), introduced as a farmer living quietly in northern Africa.
A rising star best-known from arthouse films such as Aftersun , Mescal wisely doesn’t try to emulate Crowe’s swagger: he retains an agreeably stoic, undemonstrative manner, as if he didn’t see himself as anything special. Still, Lucius has inherited his father’s warrior prowess, as we discover when he’s captured by the Romans and forced to fight in the arena, yearning all the while to avenge the death of his wife (Yuval Gonen). Parallel to this is a struggle unfolding in the shadows over the future of Rome, in which a central role is played by Lucius’ scheming mentor Macrinus (Denzel Washingto.