We round up the reviews for the sequel to Ridley Scott’s sequel to the 2000 film.
The Guardian: **** “This is a sequel that isn’t afraid to get its hands dirty – it delivers the keynote scenes and moments for the fanbase (which is all of us) and the all-important gladiator setpieces have the right hallucinatory quality, as a sea-battle is re-enacted in the flooded arena or a vast rhino gets its scaly backside kicked. When Lucius has to fight vicious baboons in one scene, it almost looks like sci-fi. Gladiator v alien?”
The Independent: **** “Ridley Scott’s belated sequel has sharks, monkeys, and Denzel Washington doing some tremendous sleeve acting. At times, this is even pure camp.”
EmpireOnline: **** “It is in many ways as compelling and expertly staged as the first Gladiator, but this one feels less concerned with its own epic-ness and a tad more proudly baroque. There’s a fearlessness to its big swings that has to be applauded. It’s Ridley Scott Unleashed, and we’re here for it.”
BBC.com: **** “Under its crowd-pleasing surface, though, the film’s theme of political power, of who wields it and how, is strong and purposeful, even if Scott cagily weaves it into the colourful show.”
Express.co.uk: **** “a thoroughly entertaining, bloody and blingy Roman epic, even if what is done in Russell Crowe’s original is echoed pretty much entirely across this sequel.”
The Telegraph: **** “While Paul Mescal impresses in Ridley Scott’s riveting sequel, a stellar Denzel Washington rather eclipses the rest of the cast.”
Slant Magazine.com: ** “Like so many latter-day Scott films, Gladiator II at once feels half-baked and overstuffed, and the lack of internal consistency robs its action of sustained tension and its comedy of bite.”
Deadline: “Gladiator is a hard act to follow, but Sir Ridley Scott proves still to be a master working up a Roman orgy of excitement that proves a worthy successor in every way.”
The Standard: **** “Gladiator II is stirring, gung-ho stuff, and it all looks ravishing, from the aerial views of Rome to the crunching action scenes. Mescal exudes charisma and testosterone, especially when rocking a gladiator’s mini-skirted tunic. Ridley Scott, we salute you.”
Digital Spy: *** “As the Colosseum is filled with blood and violence (and even with water as a ship battle becomes part of the show, sharks included), the story comes alive with breathtaking action set pieces. They are as vibrant, bloody and brutal as fans want and expect.”
Gladiator II is out in cinemas on the 15th November.