[FILM] Gladiator 2 (2024)
Gladiator 2 tries to do too much all at once and, as a result, ends up not doing particularly well at each of those things. The film probably works best as a blockbuster visual spectacle. The attention to detail is excellent, the sets are well done and the action scenes are well choreographed. Unfortunately these fights are over way too quickly, and the impact of the violence doesn't hit as hard due to the PG-13 rating - given the subject matter it feels a little strange to show a horrific time in human history with the same amount of violence as a Marvel fight.
As a legacy sequel, the film falls flat due to the rather clunky way of shoehorning references to the original film into the story. I can't help but think that this would have worked better as a standalone story. Perhaps most egregious fault of the film is the poor pacing and rushed character development - despite being two-and-a-half hours long, it feels like large chunks of the film are missing leading to some bizarre scenes were the decisions made by the characters don't feel earned.
The best part of the film is no doubt Denzel Washington, whose performance is the only thing that feels new about this film. The rest of it feels like a reheated version of the original - decent enough but not something I feel is worth revisiting.