Spoilers for “Gladiator II” follow.
Ridley Scott has been talking about making a “Gladiator” sequel for years. The first film opened in theaters in 2000 and became both a big hit and an Oscar winner, so a sequel seemed inevitable. There was just one problem: the film’s main character, Russell Crowe’s Maximus, died at the end. No matter: Nick Cave was brought in to write a wild and crazy script that resurrected Maximus from the dead via the supernatural. Sadly, this screenplay proved too weird to get made. Now, Scott has made a somewhat more traditional sequel that often feels like a remake of the first film (you can read our review right here). Rather than bring Maximus back from the dead, “Gladiator II” focuses on a new character played by Paul Mescal. Although “new” probably isn’t the right word, as Mescal’s character appeared in the original “Gladiator.”
Practically as soon as “Gladiator II” was officially announced, we knew that Mescal would be playing Lucius, a character who was a child in the original film where he was played by Spencer Treat Clark. Lucius was the son of Lucilla, an Empress played by Connie Nielsen, who returns for “Gladiator II.” In that first film, we were told Lucius’ father, Lucius Verus, was dead (more on that in a moment), and as “Gladiator” progressed, the young Lucius came to admire Maximus as the former general turned slave became a beloved gladiator who saved Rome from Lucius’ uncle, the evil Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix). Since Lucius was a kid in the first “Gladiator,” and “Gladiator II” is set many years after the first film, it makes sense to have the now-adult Lucius be the main character of the sequel.
Again: we’ve known Paul Mescal is playing Lucius in “Gladiator II” for quite some time now. But weirdly enough, “Gladiator II” treats his identity as a surprise. And that surprise ends up feeling rather weak and uninspired in the end.
The Gladiator II marketing gave away Lucius’ true identity
When “Gladiator II” begins, we see Mescal’s character as a warrior fighting off Roman invaders in Numidia, located in North Africa. Surprisingly enough, everyone keeps calling Mescal’s character Hanno. Hanno ends up watching his warrior wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen) killed at the order of Roman General Acacius (Pedro Pascal), only to then be captured and transported to Rome as a slave. Once in Rome, Hanno is purchased by gladiator promotor and arms dealer Macrinus (Denzel Washington, who steals the entire film), and is then forced to become a gladiator who eventually ends up fighting in Colosseum.
During one of his Colosseum fights, Hanno is watched from the audience by Lucilla, who quickly has a shocking realization: this man in the arena everyone calls Hanno is her long-lost son Lucius! After this, we’re eventually shown a flashback where Lucilla sends the young Lucius away for his own safety. Lucilla confronts the adult Lucius, who rejects her, bitter at having been sent away and seemingly forgotten all those years ago. But again: we, the audience, already knew this guy was Lucius. The movie treats this revelation as a big dramatic twist, but anyone paying attention to the marketing for “Gladiator II” knew it beforehand.
And that’s not the only twist the marketing spoiled. Remember when I said that Lucius was thought to be the son of a dead man named Lucius Verus? Well, one of the “Gladiator II” trailers went ahead and revealed that wasn’t the case at all. Instead, Lucius is actually the son of Maximus. This, of course, opens up a whole new can of worms: Maximus was shown to be wholly devoted to his wife in the first “Gladiator,” and sought revenge for her brutal murder. And yet … he apparently had an affair with Lucilla at some point? To be fair, maybe the affair that spawned Lucius happened before Maximus was married. In any case, the fact that Lucius is Maximus’ son is also treated as a twist, but again, we already knew this thanks to the marketing. This doesn’t ruin the movie as a whole, but it does end up robbing it of some of its dramatic power, and I can’t help but wonder if the film would play differently had these supposed twists remained a secret.
“Gladiator II” is now playing in theaters.
