While watching Gladiator II last week, I considered a lot of men, and it seems everyone else there did too. In the confused shell shocked period that came after the Presidential election, where responses were sought for the reason behind Donald Trump’s decisive triumph, men’s discussions came up. Men who seem to think and vote quite differently than women, who have issues with feminism, and now, who do not see a culture that provides for their dominance, prefer to withdraw, and so remain perpetually to slip down the digital spiral of manosphere ends up with them being dumped at the feet of Goblins like Andrew Tate, who rejoiced the election of Donald Trump by proclaiming that the patriarchy was back. How are we going to reach the men? is the concern that many pundits seem to fret over… A section of liberals on the internet has believed otherwise, saying the answer is to create some sort of a “blue” version of Joe Rogan, ignoring the fact that Rogan himself would probably not affix any loyal political stance to his podcast.
Amidst all this, Ridley Scott’s follow-up to his muscular 2000 film about a Roman general and arena fighter is being screened against wicked, much like a Barbenheimer reincarnate. However, Gladiator II, because of its best picture-winning acclaim, ends up disappointing so greatly that one can imagine leaving the cinema thinking, ‘Oh, so this is what a crisis of masculinity looks like.’
I cannot say that all the problems started when Hollywood handed over a romantic retrograde masculine image to resurfaced accounts advocating that return accounts impressed them that it was okay to criticize a rigid building structure but to eat huge quantities of the raw liver was fantastic amongst others. But I wouldn’t say that this is completely inaccurate either. The appeal of films like Gladiator and Master and Commander which were released only a decade apart in what seems like the final stage where these movies appealed to audiences one last time was the fact that they depicted war violence with great oratory parts done on a grand scale to cover up delusional feelings instead, If anything, yes, about honor and about dying for something, but mostly, really, about dudes who like being around other. In high school, I had an acquaintance who tore up when Braveheart would come up, which says something regarding the crying aspects of the movie but as much the head-shattering war scenes were also a draw for the fans of Mel Gibson’s 1995 drama.
The ending of Gladiator is not quite what one would expect, it does not finish off with fellow Roman soldier Maximus, Russell Crowe being lifted, but rather with his comrade fighter Juba played by Djimon Hounsou who lays in rest, along with Maximus’s family keepsakes entrusted in the Colosseum.
Peter Mensah embodies the only character of Juba in Gladiator II. His character dies early in the movie after the attacking Romans take over Numidia. In this kingdom located in the northern coast of Africa, we eventually see the hero, Lucius. The issue at hand is that Lucius’s mother smuggled him away during the invasion of Rome. It was only after his father had perished, who was Maximus, as we learn in the sequel. According to the timeline of events, this older version of Lucius was depicted by the adult actor Paul Mescal while in the 2000 film, Spencer Treat Clark would describe the younger version. Mescal’s performance in the movie was quite exhilarating as it was his debut role in a studio. We can say that an Irish actor cast in such a meaty role was disappointing tracking his history of good performances. There were many areas where he was incorrectly cast however, there stood out to be a primary one where the actor appeared to rule out as a leader who others would willingly follow to their deaths.
So far in Mescal’s career, he has been in acts that have always been under the influence of women starting with the TV version of “Normal People” in him having impressive acting prowess, and now being praised for his role in Charlotte Wells’s – Aftersun. However, he hasn’t been engaged in any action outside the daughter of the leading through her performance. In the first film, this did not affect them, which is why it is difficult to figure out why the sequel determined to add emphasis on dread. The barbarity demonstrated by this former gladiator was replicated in the sequel through completely different dramatic means which were turned out to be myths. Mescal explains why this abruptly became a concern when he was able to help Snyder in the sequel.
As Scott and Scarpa collaborated on this film, Scott made sure to abuse woman characters to emphasize a sentimental relationship that this film was devoid of. In turn, it masterfully transitioned into a very awkward climax. As Scott adjusted and prepared the script during the filming on set, Fred Hechinger alongside Joseph Quinn managed to coordinate perfectly. Revenge was summoned through sheer brilliance and violence as over-the-top acting allowed him to dream of such a scenario while Quinn waited for his time and served from the backline.
In the character of scheming villain Macrinus, Denzel Washington impresses, producing some pleasingly odd line readings (I entertained myself with “I own … your house. I want … your loyalty”) and simultaneously conveying a devilish grin as he begins to comprehend that the slave he purchased to fight is worth significantly more than he ever could have expected. Even though Lucius is set to rule Rome and the franchise in the future, Macrinus has a much interesting backstory that it becomes difficult not to cheer for his unrelenting progress in the film primarily due to Lucius’s disinterest in adopting the role of a leader or even accepting the role that his mother and her husband, general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal, in a sort of replacement Crowe role) occupy. At the very least, Macrinus is self-driven but Lucius seems to be around to do nothing and only when the script demands it, he is spurred to change his motivations. He still didn’t fully expend all of his energy. That kind of decision was still left with Lucius, who is, at best, a person who is engaged in a long bout of pouting. When it is Macrinus’s turn to comment on the fury that could be seen in his new fighter, it takes everything Washington has to make an observation that is certainly incorrect – or at least, wrong in several ways.
I wasn’t a huge fan of Gladiator but I could appreciate the over-dramatized emotions embedded within. I can’t say that I’m a fan of their direction in life which seems to be a lot about death, vengeance, and yes, reestablishing order. Towards the end of Gladiator II, despite some of the themes from the first film like putting forward a ‘dream of Rome’, that the people even in the sequel seem to dream about, it seems to be even further from possibility. It is as though all the characters put together ransacked Rome and left nothing worthy of being reinstated. Consider for a moment the most suspense-filled and intense moments in Gladiator when two characters are fighting. That’s the only time Rome retains its purpose in the film. My most favorite and the least coordinated scene is the ships claiming the seas up until the western province. I was highly amused by them all which resulted ultimately in one of the greatest intersections of ancient and modern worlds. A decade on from the superb Gladiator, Scott the pro was able to recreate masterpieces and like Marc Cooper put it best – “show these scenes a vicious vitality”.
However, the excitement of the action sequences only highlights the emptiness of the rest of the endeavor. Certainly, not everyone spends a great deal of time contemplating the Roman Empire, but those who do deserve better than that.
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