Well, this will be long so if you’re one of the few people who’ll read this, you have my gratitude. 

Gladiator II is both a disappointment and a decent movie. Everything it does right is numbed down by something that doesn’t live up to the standards of the 2000’s masterpiece. 
I’ll go in depth about what I like, what I don’t like and I won’t spoil anything. 

Gladiator II is, above all, a love letter to the first movie. Ridley Scott wanted to return to this world so much he decided a sequel was needed or justifiable. Well, it’s not. Gladiator has one of the most memorable movie endings of all time that wraps up the story perfectly and nothing about Gladiator II feels like it’s adding something meaningful to the equation. 

David Scarpa’s screenplay is essentially ok but there’s no emotional punch here. Also, the structure of this movie is basically Gladiator I but make it least interesting and with a least charismatic hero. For instance, until the third act of the movie ( which is the best by a mile ) everything was playing like Gladiator I but very, very worse. The structure, the character motivations and the storytelling was extremely familiar ( and not in a good way ). There were some really uninteresting dialogue moments and, unfortunately, I still think that Scarpa isn’t a good screenwriter. He failed in Napoleon and he didn’t  succeed particularly well here. 
The runtime felt very long but, at the same time, the storytelling felt rushed and incoherent.

One thing I particularly disliked doesn’t involve Scarpa in particular but the marketing department. Since the first trailer that everyone knows that Mescal plays Lucius, a character from the first movie. Well, the movie tries to build suspense regarding the identity of this character and I just can’t understand why. Everyone knows that Mescal is Lucius, if this reveal was supposed to be epic and mesmerizing, it didn’t work because the audience was already spoiled by the synopsis and trailers. 

So, regarding the script, it plays like another Gladiator movie but with much less suspense, emotion and focus. Character interactions are fine but oh dear god, the two twin emperors are absolutely terrible. I don’t know if this was on purpose but those characters are abominable and a complete downgrade from everyone from the first movie, actually. 

Now, let’s talk Performances. Interesting department because Denzel Washington is great here. Probably my favorite performance of the entire movie. Pedro Pascal is also great, with a huge amount of heart, screen presence and charisma. I truly loved that character. 
Now, the lead: Paul Mescal. He’s fine but he’s no Russel Crowe, unfortunately. He’s not bad by any means but he lacks fire power, he lacks that spark that ignited our hearts while watching the original Gladiator. Also, he doesn’t do much besides fighting and shouting … everything seems like it’s setting up the next fight sequence and we never get to know this character all that well.
His motivations are very similar to Maximus’ and the first act doesn’t introduce him properly. 
The rest of the performances are fine, with a particular negative mention to Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger.

Now, the aspect that disappointed me the most given the talent: directing
What the hell happened here, honestly? Why does Gladiator I have more impressive visuals, better CGI and better fight choreography? I am beyond stunned because this is a 250M dollar movie that never feels expensive or . The visuals are fine but, coming from Ridley Scott, they’re pretty average to mediocre. This isn’t a particularly good looking movie or even a competently filmed one. So many weird shots during the first two acts that felt so out of place, so cheap, so uninteresting and so downgraded from the first movie. 
The CGI, holy mother of Christ. Those Apes look absolutely terrible for a 250M dollar movie. I mean, honestly, they look terrible for a 15M dollar movie. The sharks as well, awful looking. The shark from Jaws looks more alive and realistic. They distracted me from the experience and that fight sequence is one of Scott’s career low points. How on earth can a movie have this CGI with this budget? I definitely don’t know. 
The fight sequences don’t feel real, like, for instance, in the first gladiator battle. The fight sequences feel like a bunch of visual effects put together with zero effort to make them believable enough. Everything on camera here feels like a downgrade when compared to the original masterpiece 

Until now, it sounds like I absolutely hated this movie and well, I hated the first hour with ion. Then, it gets a lot better, culminating in a very epic ending that ultimately saves this movie from being a disaster. When Gladiator II tries to be original, it shines and does have some brilliant moments but the majority of the movie feels like a replay of the first. So much nostalgia, so much throwbacks and even actual footage from the first installment. Gladiator II never understands what it wants to be: a legacy sequel or an actual original and meaningful new story.

The soundtrack is also a step down, reminding the audience of Hans Zimmer’s masterpiece of a theme but never aiming for something more. 

Overall, Gladiator II would be a good movie if Gladiator I didn’t exist. It tells a revenge story that shifts into something more but never quite gets to the highs of its predecessor. The characters are a mixed bag but when they shine, they shine. Washington has all the necessary charisma to save the movie from mediocrity and Pascal is good as usual. The fight sequences are the absolute definition of “Bigger isn’t always better”, with Scott proving that something like The Last Duel is far more effective, satisfying and entertaining than horrible CGI extravaganza. 
The third act is superb, giving Gladiator II some identity of its own and showing more of the political instability and the grey morality of some of these characters. 
I hoped for more and after 24 years I think we deserved more. This isn’t a particularly great sequel to a 5 Academy Award Winning movie. It’s decent, but could have been much, much more. 

6/10