Gladiator 2 Review & Analysis
Amount Of Times Watched (in theaters): 18
Written By: Ella Collins
I must admit I only just watched the original Gladiator movie all the way through a couple days ago, but even before having seen the original I can confidently say this movie is an absolute masterpiece. I was first drawn in by the trailer because let me just say I am not one to usually rave about movie trailers but I will rave about this one. I went back and rewatched this trailer at least twenty times. It was so well put together and definitely caught my attention the first time I saw it. Gladiator 2 quickly became one of my favorites and immediately went into my Letterboxd top four. This movie is one I will continue to watch and recommend for years to come (along with the first one). While it had many pleasant ties to the first one I feel it developed its own unique and interesting storyline along with well developed characters.
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Gladiator 2 tells the tale of Hano, a soldier, forcefully turned, Gladiator after his home of Numidia is conquered by roman general Acacius in the name of twin emperors Geta and Caracalla. He must navigate his way through the arena and defeat the challenges that come with it in order to gain freedom while also saving the people and restoring order to Rome as Marcus Aurelius once intended. He must not only fight a battle for his freedom but a battle restoring the dream of Rome where all of its people are free.
You must stay true to who you are and where you come from. No matter what never let anyone dictate and attempt to change you or what you believe in, no matter how powerful. Without strength, there is no honor.
As I mentioned, I already fell in love with this movie well before watching the original but I feel after watching the original I only fell more in love with it due to the satisfying parallels and connections made back to the first one. I feel it was almost more enjoyable to watch the second one and then go back and watch the first one because I am a sucker for a good parallel in movies. I also very much fell in love with the casting choices because the cast is just as lovable off screen as they are on screen. Another aspect I fell in love with was the score. The score produced by Hans Zimmer in the original movie is exceptional and I love the music done by Harry Gregson-Williams in this one and how it captures the unique aspects of this movie while also staying true to the original score. Mescal does an exceptional job and was a perfect casting choice for this role. His hard work and dedication for this role radiates through the screen and the performance of the entire cast is mesmerizing to watch, which is why I was so drawn to this film and have watched it fifteen times.
It is a film with a powerful story that has an impact on you and has a powerful message that adds to the impact. Paul Mescal did an amazing job following in the footsteps of Russell Crowe. It gave me the sort of adrenaline rush I crave from movies that makes me want to come back again and again for more (which I did). It had so many great scenes and so many great characters. This movie and it's cast has definitely become my Roman Empire. I fear you do not know what real cinema is until you have watched this movie.
