JASON EVANS' 100-WORD REVIEWS: Gladiator II

 A spectacle in search of a story

Film critic Jason Evans is here to tell you about movies in less time than it takes to swing a sword. His reviews are exactly 100 words long (99 is never enough and 101 is too verbose). Here is his 100-word review of Gladiator II.

The Premise: Set two decades after the original film, Gladiator II finds Lucius (Paul Mescal) living a quiet life away from the Rome that he was once supposed to rule. But Lucius is taken into slavery when Roman forces, led by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), attack his city. He soon finds himself fighting in the Colosseum for Macrinus (Denzel Washington), a former slave turned scheming politician. The film also brings back Connie Nielsen from the original Gladiator. It is directed by the legendary Ridley Scott with a script by David Scarpa (Napoleon, All the Money in the World).

The 100-Words: A stunning, lavish production with massive scenes of war and gladiator fights the likes of which we have rarely seen before. Early on, I was taken away by the scope and spectacle of it. But, I soon found my interest lagging as the ponderous script failed to provide any surprises or much of a connection to the characters. The film really struggles when it attempts call backs to the original Gladiator. Washington joyously hams it up but the rest of the cast seems confused about their roles. The more I think about this, the less satisfied I am with it.

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