Pascal), they expand Rome’s empire. His latest conquest is the African state of Numidia, where his army captures many prisoners, including Hanno (Paul Mescal), a refugee from Rome. The prisoners are taken back to Rome, where Hanno and some others become gladiators.

Hanno impresses the stable master Macrinus (Denzel Washington) by biting a baboon in the arena and then strangling it. Macrinus trains Hanno, who wants revenge against Acacius for killing his wife during the Numidian war. Hanno soon earns a significant victory in the Coliseum before the emperors. Acacius and his wife, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), are also present for the contest. She was Maximus’s lover and fathered his son, Lucius. After Maximus’s death, she sent Lucius away where, to the surprise of absolutely no one watching Gladiator II, he grew up to become Hanno.

The bulk of Gladiator II’s running time comprises gladiatorial contests in the Coliseum and political intrigue outside. Hanno/Lucius acquits himself well in the former but proves to be a Johnny-come-lately in the latter. Instead, Denzel Washington delivers an acting showcase as the soft-spoken Macrinus, who constantly thinks, plans, and outwits the members of the Senate and the emperors. On the outside, he’s a showman, promoting fights and contests with the same skill as modern-day wrestling promoters. But Macrinus also has a more sinister, hidden agenda that reveals itself later in the movie. Washington is a shoo-in for a Best Supporting Actor nomination, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win.

Unfortunately, the rest of the performances range from poorly underwritten to badly over-broad. Quinn and Hechinger try to one-up each other and Joaquin Phoenix from the original Gladiator in the nuttiness department. However, the only thing notable about their performances is the copious amounts of eyeliner they use. Pedro Pascal is virtually wasted as Acacius. Instead of being Lucius’s primary foe, he proves little more than a hapless dupe, more to be pitied than admired or feared. As for the members of the Senate who get involved in the political in-fighting, they merely take up space and occasional screen time.

The movie’s most enormous acting hole is its lead, Paul Mescal. His greatest enemy isn’t his opponent in the arena but the ghost of Russell Crowe, who shows up in flashbacks as Maximus. Crowe’s two minutes of screen time evince more charisma and leadership than Mescal shows in two hours. When Lucius addresses the armies gathered around Rome, I was reminded of Kirk Douglas in Spartacus. Sadly, Lucius is no Spartacus.

Gladiator II outshines its predecessor in one major area. The sequel has more sword fights and adds an entire menagerie into the fray. In one scene, the Coliseum is flooded, and the gladiators battle in actual galleys. To enhance the spectacle, the game masters fill the water with sharks. (I’m not sure how they stored the sharks between contests.) In another scene, the reigning champion gladiator entered the arena riding a charging rhinoceros. For those who enjoy graphic violence, the battles feature enough body parts chopped off to stock most horror movies.

The sword fights are well-staged when director Ridley Scott takes the focus away from the Coliseum’s menagerie and onto the man-to-man combat. Even though most audience members can guess the outcome of each individual duel, seeing how the winner triumphs is often more a matter of strategy than superior swordplay. As a bonus, ancient warfare aficionados can see the rare dramatization of a naval attack against the coastal fortress of Numidia. I had never seen a sequence like that, and I was fascinated.

It’s impressive that Ridley Scott, at age 87, can still make spectacles like Gladiator II. Watching the movie in IMAX or a similar wide-screen format would be an enthralling experience. But when the warfare ends, the movie is far more pedestrian, at best, a functional follow-up to the original film. Scott seems to have lost touch with his actors, except for Denzel Washington, who I suspect pretty much directed himself. As big-screen entertainment, Gladiator II earns a thumbs up. However, don’t expect to see it reap the critical glory of the original movie.  

Read other reviews of Gladiator II:

• Brian Tallerico (Roger Ebert)
• Daniel Rester (Battle Royale with Cheese)
• Edgar Ortega (Loud and Clear)