2024 has had a flurry of riveting films. Movie connoisseurs have had Gladiator II circled on their boards since the beginning of the year, and quite frankly it is so far living up to the profound attention. The movie blasts the watcher back in time to the ages of ancient Rome, a place where colosseum fights were the norm and violence was a thing of nature. With such anticipation for a second movie after the first Gladiator (May 5th, 2000), the creators of the sequel jam-packed the cast with big-name stars. Some of those huge names include Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, and Joseph Quinn.
The new film explores the themes of revenge, greed, and triumph. It follows a young warrior named Lucius, who decides to step into the Colosseum after the elites of Rome take his homeland. He fights this rage and hope in his heart, wishing to return glory to the people of Rome.
Gladiator II was released on November 22nd, 2024, and besides some complaints pertaining to the movie’s historical accuracy, Gladiator II has obtained great reviews. A reviewer on Rotten Tomatoes called it, “A surprisingly excellent sequel!” Some of the HHS students also had some things to say about the new release including junior Katie Whitlock. She said, “I thought the movie was really entertaining, but I just do not think it could have been completely historically accurate.” Another HHS junior Sean Callahan said, “I can not think of a better way to wrap up such a great first movie.”
However, the movie did not come without any backlash from media outlets. Forbes had some very strong opinions on the movie. A writer called it, “a dreadful, pointless sequel that never should have seen the light of day.” Another well-known outlet FP News called it, “an empty prayer at the altar of a franchise.”
As a small movie connoisseur, I had a less-strong opinion. Overall, I found it very entertaining, which is certainly a plus in any sort of action movie. However, I did feel that the greatness of the first Gladiator movie very much shadowed it. The first movie in this series was so great that it raised the expectations of the second through the roof, only to be met with an above-average film.
