Gladiator II

An aggressively mediocre rendition of the original, quite enjoyable for its visual effects, yet wholly lacking in anything substantial or even shallow to say when it comes to its story, message, and legacy. I enjoy thinking about the Roman Empire as much as the next guy—“Think about the Dream of the Roman Empire!” is such a great meme—but this movie felt like a series of scenes and shots optimized to become viral tiktok reels for years to come.

There isn’t much to say. I’m adding it to my list to prove that I do watch contemporary stuff, but rarely find the energy or desire to write anything about them. I suppose when they did the GLADIIATOR—that was pretty cool. It’s a good forgettable watch to go to with friends to the movie theaters, especially after a long work Monday, which was us. Ultimately, it does crush under its own weight and importance. Surprisingly heavy-handed and treating its viewers as toddlers who have not seen the first part nor have any idea of what theater they walked into.

Riddley Scott is scraping the bottom of the barrel that he might have scratched a hole there—cannot recall any of his recent works that were even passable when compared to his earlier works. Unimaginative, predictable, and has absolutely nothing to say nor a leg to stand on. Actors were okay choices. Pity we didn’t get to see more of Pedro Pascal, a wasted opportunity. Denzel Washington stole the show. I got a free and sick ass poster at my local B&B theater after the screening, so I felt pretty good. Wouldn’t give Gladiator II more than 4.5/10 (the +0.5 is thanks to the poster).