Gladiator 2 a remake or a sequel
a spoiler free review
I finally watched Gladiator 2 this Sunday and While looking through reviews I saw that people were saying that this is a direct copy of the first one from 2000. In this review I will talk about the positives and negatives of this film and how similar is it to the first one
positives
one thing I will applaud Ridley Scott on is making sure that this is directly linked to the first one with the story following Maximus’s son Lucius who we see in the first film. Ridley Scott had the opportunity to follow any character he wished but making it about Lucius I believe was the only right choice when it comes to making a legacy sequel. Some actors even come back to reprise their roles such as Connie Nielsen returning as Lucillia. With such a big legacy from the first one which won best picture at the Oscars and following Russell Crows performance Paul Mescal has a huge step to follow in. Mescal brings a well thought out performance in this film with not being scared to take risks. He is supported by Pedro Pascal who plays General Acacius and power house Denzel Washington. Being put in a film with to long time actors Paul Mescal proves in this film that he is a force to be reckoned with. Joining him in the cast is another upcoming actor Joseph Quinn who recently stared in the quiet place prequel a quiet place day one. The whole cast brings a great performance. Another positive is how well shot it is. The cinematography of this film is so well done and the colour grading is another well done thing in this film.
the negatives
A very big thing I had with this film is the historical accuracy. As someone who studied classical civilisations and had to learn about the roman Colosseum the naval battle is actually historical accurate. The issue I had was the seating in the Colosseum. There was a lot of women in this film that were sat at the front which would not have happened unless they were vestal virgins. The front seats would often have been reserved for the higher class people and the poorer people would be right in the nose bleeds. Another issue I had was with some of the CGI one of them being some of the sharks just looked a bit choppy in my opinion. There is also a prop used of a head that just looked nothing like the actor. It looked really badly done for a film on such a big budget. The final issue I had was with the characters they felt very empty and in my opinion lacked some depth.
remake or sequel
This is the major question that people asked when going into this film and to that I have to say it both. It contains characters from the first film in the future therefore being a sequel but it also contains so many connections to the first film that it can be seen as a remake of the first one and just be retold as a sequel. One major thing is the way that both Maximus and Lucius are told and how they become the champion in the end. I get that this can be used as parallels but also it can be seen as just the same story told with slight adjustments to make it a sequel. So to the question of it being a remake or sequel I personally believe that it is a sequel but I recommend going out and watching it in cinemas
How will it do in the Oscars
With is being a sequel to an Oscar winner it is bound to be nominated but for which categories. I personally believe that it will be nominated for best picture, Denzel Washington for best supporting actor, Best editing, Best production, best costume design, best sound and best visual effects. These are all my opinions on which parts it will be nominated for however I don’t believe that it will win any of these awards.