Making Rome great again: how to watch Gladiator 2
In Europe has already started, and in the U.S. is expected on November 22, the release of "Gladiator 2" - a sequel to the famous Oscar-winning picture of 2000. This is one of those cases when the sequel appeared unexpectedly, because the story of the original movie was logically completed: the plot knot is unraveled, "everyone died", and quite spectacular. About whether it was worth it to start a large-scale shooting and what ended up, tells the correspondent of "Izvestia", who watched the picture, as it should be with a blockbuster, on a wide screen in a theater in Spain.
Unpretentious "Gladiator" and failed musical with Crowe
There is a saying, "When Ridley Scott makes a movie, God flips a coin." The director is now 86 years old, has been in movies for a long time, and has tried his hand at everything but the musical. But his work is patchy. It seems that in the case of "Gladiator 2," the coin first fell on a rib and then rolled away somewhere.
The first movie was a fictionalized story about a Roman general, Maximus (Russell Crowe), who gets the blessing of Emperor Marcus Aurelius to become the "protector of Rome" (and essentially his successor). But because of the intrigues of the insidious and cruel heir to the throne by blood, Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), Maximus lost his family, was forced to wander and soon became a gladiator. Commodus, on the other hand, ascended to the Roman throne. His sister Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) asked the former general to move against the tyrant with loyal troops, but the plan failed. In the end, he fought Commodus in the arena of the Colosseum, killed the tyrant, and himself was mortally wounded.
The plot of the picture, which won five Oscars, by the way, unoriginal - many called the movie a remake of "The Fall of the Roman Empire" from the 60's, where Lucilla played Sophia Loren, and Commodus - Christopher Plummer.
But if the first tape was inspired by classics like Kubrick's "Spartacus", the second turned out much closer to the genre of "sandals and sword", "peplum". In Italy 60-70-ies made hundreds of similar movies, where the mighty snarling beards were more important than the plot and credibility.
By the way, "Gladiator 2" really almost became Scott's first musical, and even with Russell Crowe. The script (it is publicly available on the Web) wrote Nick Cave. And according to the plot Maximus returned from the other world to kill Christ and, as an "eternal warrior" to fight in all conflicts - from the Crusader times to Vietnam. Fortunately, the director woke up one day and thought, "What nonsense!" But the very fact that it was a working (approved!) version proves once again that Ridley sometimes just doesn't feel where to stop.
In the plot of Gladiator 2, 16 years have passed. Lucius (Paul Mescal), son of Lucilla and grandson of Marcus Aurelius, heir to the Roman throne, spent his childhood away from his mother. For safety's sake, the lad lives somewhere in the separatist north of Africa (Africa Nova) under the name Hanno, loves his young wife, and even fights alongside her and local troops against the Romans. One not-so-great day, the Romans, led by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), storm the fortress Hanno is defending in large ships. His wife is killed by an enemy arrow, and he himself is enslaved, becomes a gladiator and dreams of revenge against Acacius. An interesting plot twist: Acacius is the husband of Lucius' mother, the same Lucillia. At the end, of course, the final battle awaits us. And not just one.
Magical double: how it works in the movie
In this project, for some reason, everything is twice, as if it were not "Gladiator 2", but "Double Gladiator". There are two opponents of the protagonist. And Lucius and Acacius themselves are two of them embodying the image of a general-gladiator. Only here one is a commander, and the other is a slave.
There are two emperors, too. The brothers Geta and Caracalla (who really existed, but have little to do with the events of the picture) look like comical psychopaths, nothing more. They intend to drown Rome in blood for fun, and send the army to eternal war. The brothers spend their days in the Colosseum, spending the rest of the imperial treasury on lavish games with gladiators. General Acacius, on the contrary, is tired of the senseless death of soldiers and decides to lead a rebellion. Fred Heckinger and Joseph Quinn in the roles of tyrants are criminally undiscovered as actors. Unfortunately, in the star of the last season of "Stranger Things" Quinn, the director of "Gladiator 2" saw no more than a swaggering clown, while his range is much greater.
Design Game
Lucius is chosen by the cynical gladiator manager Macrinus (Denzel Washington). This is one of two genuinely interesting, lively characters. A good-natured businessman who turns into a cunning and brutal killer in his lust for power. The other colorful character is the medic Ravi (Alexander Karim), Lucius' friend and assistant. It is his screen time that fills the movie with lively, warm moments.
In general, the script became simpler, but in the best traditions of sequels tried to "reassemble" the components of the original's success, as if a child's constructor. Sometimes you get the feeling that you are watching a remake of the first part. Critics once said that the plot of "Gladiator" is "Rocky" on minimal. The new movie was also received coolly by experts, it essentially retells the plot of 2000, although a couple of interesting twists and turns will no doubt entertain viewers.
Forward to the past and back from the future
Unlike the previous movie, "Gladiator 2" has more sunshine and overall the mood is not as somber. However, the project does not look super-scale: there is a lot of talking, most of the action takes place in close-ups, in cramped rooms. In some places you catch yourself thinking that you are watching the pilot episode of the TV series "Gladiator". Although "on paper" and has all the ingredients of an ideal movie for IMAX: the new gladiator now fights not just with tigers, but also with rhinos, evil monkeys and even sharks. True, these battles in the arena of the Colosseum look like inset numbers, the action inevitably leads to them, and the audience in the movie hall seems to turn into Romans, expecting more and more violent scenes.
Some of the special effects are perplexing. The Colosseum looks much more realistic than it did 20 years ago. It is now not only a graphic, but a life-size set built in Malta. But the ships, painted monkeys, sharks are as if taken from a computer game of ten years ago. Battles on the water, sword fights, which, for example, for "Pirates of the Caribbean" were a usual thing, here look like a test of a pen. But fist fights, fights between people are done perfectly in terms of choreography.
Paul Mescal perfectly plays a bearded, brutal man, character and look like a bear. His best moments are not when he talks, but when he just stares intently and radiates menace. Russell Crowe was about the same in his role as a gladiator. But Lucius here is like a feature character and pales against the background of more interesting characters.
Heroine Connie Nielsen - still the most profound and tragic character. The actress managed to perfectly play Lucilla, torn apart by the current situation of choice between her husband and son. In the new film it turns out that Lucilla had a relationship with Maximus in his youth (then it was not revealed, and as a child Lucius called the father of the commander Lucius Vera). However, in the sequel, Lucius is already referred to as Maximus' son. That casts a big shadow on the motives of Crowe's character in the previous movie - there he already had a beloved wife and son, whose death became the engine of the plot.
In general, the screenwriters and Scott dispose of the characters of "Gladiator" and ancient history in general, as if they were playing puppets. The famous Senator Gracchus (Derek Jacoby returned to his role) lived about 150 years earlier than the described era. And everything for which the director's first project was scolded - free treatment of historical facts and chronology, pathos tone, excessive violence - remained in the new movie.
A little politics
In the second "Gladiator" many times sounds the phrase "Dream of Rome" - Marcus Aurelius dreamed of a free republic where people live under the law, under the guidance of the Senate, and everyone in need will find shelter. In this case, all of this applies, no doubt, to the States and their liberal policies. The Senate, the republic - all of which America's founding fathers built on the principles of ancient Rome. But as a political statement, Gladiator 2 works the worst. Perhaps because Sir Ridley Scott is a Briton, and the son of a military officer who spent a lot of time without his father as a child, and personal motives are much more important to him than state parallels.
If the genre of ancient action movies is to your liking, they are not so rare on the screens. Recall that the next two "Cleopatra" - one project Denis Villeneuve ("Dune", "Blade Runner 2049"), the other does Gal Gadot. Director of "Anonymous" and "The Day After Tomorrow" Roland Emmerich this year also noted lush series "Doomed to Glory" about ancient Rome. But honestly, it's much more interesting to watch the classic 1964 epic "The Fall of the Roman Empire".
Where to watch
Nevertheless, Russian fans of the movie with Crowe are interested in where you can watch "Gladiator 2". Whether the blockbuster will come out in the domestic box office, it is still unknown. In any case, the studio Macdonald/Parkes Productions did not sanction the Russian region.
Watch "Gladiator 2" online will be available after the digital release of the drama, tentatively in January 2025.
But whether to wait for the third picture with the adventures of "going to death" - it is still unclear. However, the finale of the second "Gladiator" was left open, and Scott has already spoken about the possibility of a sequel.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
