Review of “Gladiator II”: Ridley Scott and Denzel Washington enter the arena

Rome is on the verge of the abyss Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II. His downfall is said to be imminent. The dream it once symbolized is dead. The once high-minded ideals of the Roman Empire have fallen into disrepair in a corrupt country now ruled by a pale emperor.

On the throne is Geta (Joseph Quinn), who sits next to his sniveling brother Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). The heart of this Rome is, of course, the Colosseum, where crowds cheer the gladiators fighting and dying. The ageless Scott feels remarkably at home there. The arena, with its bursts of spectacle and violence, represents the director’s vision of the big screen: Go big or go home.

This dichotomy – a fallen society and its insatiable need for entertainment – ​​is the clever and unflattering backdrop of the “Gladiator” films. Part two, set 20 years after the events of the first film, brings a new fighter to the Colosseum – a mysterious outsider named Lucius Verus, played by Paul Mescal. And to answer the inevitable question: yes. Yes, I was quite entertaining.

“Gladiator II” isn’t quite the prestige of the first 2001 film that won Best Picture. It’s more of a swaggering sword-and-sandals epic that puts the need for entertainment above all else. No one in Gladiator II understands this better than Denzel Washington. His performance as Machiavellian power broker Macrinus is a delicious mix of robes and grins – so convincingly over-the-top that he almost reaches 1990s Al Pacino standards.

Within this Rome there are scattered interests interested in overthrowing it, including Marcus Acacius, a highly decorated general who has just returned from a successful campaign to capture Numidia in northwest Africa. (This siege forms the film’s climactic opening, with an armada racing toward the walled city at almost NASCAR speed, with towers at the bows of the boats to climb the parapets.)

Acacius is a loyal Roman, but when he learns that the emperors are only thirsty for more territory and more war, he and his wife Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) begin plotting to overthrow the brothers.

In a film where everyone has a secret, few stay hidden for long. Chief among them is Lucius Verus, a warrior in Numidia who was captured and forced to fight as a gladiator. He is the son of Lucilla and Maximus (Crowe in Gladiator). After the events of this film, Lucilla sent him, an heir to the Empire, to Numidia to grow up outside of the Empire’s power struggles.

Mescal, the great Irish actor from “Aftersun” And “We are all strangers” smoothly enters a blockbuster arena for the first time. “That’s interesting,” says Macrinus, eyeing him for the first time. Mescal’s Lucius is vengeful – the Roman army kills his warrior wife at the Battle of Numidia. “Anger pours out of you like milk,” Macrinus says admiringly. The mischievous glint in Mescal’s eyes gives Lucius a little more character than your average vengeful gladiator.

We watch as Lucius deftly survives one arena after another. Meanwhile, Macrinus manipulates him to divert public interest from the emperor. It’s a rich, if slightly cartoonish, tapestry of palace intrigue, with Macrinus deftly pulling all the strings.

But actually none of the machinations are as captivating as the increasingly carnivalesque scenes in the Colosseum. On their first trip there, the gladiators are greeted by man-eating monkeys. Next, it’s a rider on a giant, charging rhino. Then the piece of resistance: a flooded Colosseum teeming with sharks. There are even small fake islands with scattered palm trees.

Now “Gladiator II” can’t keep up many inquiries from historians. (Some problems were also solved with Scott’s last historical epic, “Napoleon,” (which was also written by David Scarpa). But this film isn’t designed for accuracy. It’s designed to binge a few pieces of history into a feast and enjoy the charm of watching Washington’s Macrinus brandish a head recently freed from his body.

Yes, heads will roll in Scott’s Gladiator sequel. Macrinus succeeds in throwing Rome into turmoil. In fact, he makes it so easy and devious that “Gladiator II” falls flat as soon as things start to unravel for him. You can’t quite believe his ruthlessness after he has so patiently and skillfully turned the adjusting screws.

Still, two possible successors emerge: Lucius, who has a birthright to the throne, and Macrinus, who only comes into reach through his own wit. Is it any wonder I supported Macrinus all this time? How could you not when Washington chews over such landscapes and makes sweeping (and quite apt) declarations like, “That, my friend, is politics!”

“Gladiator II,” a Paramount Pictures release. is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “strong bloody violence.” Running time: 148 minutes. Three out of four stars.