Gladiator II

3 sec ago - Over 1,500 years after its mystery-shrouded fall, the Roman Empire continues to captivate the imaginations of audiences around the world, at least in the Western world to a degree that few other ancient civilizations rival. “Gladiator II”, directed by Ridley Scott, aims to take viewers back in time to the “beginning of the end” of the once-great empire with a snapshot of the much-debated “years of decadence” where “bread and circuses” distracted the populace from mounting issues and the misrule of tyrannical emperors, honor and morality had increasingly little weight and a Roman Army stretched too thin became unable to stave off the constant nibbling of enemies at the Empire’s borders.

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The film certainly is a blast from the past. “Gladiator II” does what it says on the tin, and does it well, with plenty of thrilling gladiatorial action on offer, including the first recreation of a naumachia (a staged naval battle in a flooded arena) in a blockbuster film, with a solid plot to tie the action-driven screenplay together and direction that avoids veering into overly gratuitous or camp territory.

The star of the show, in terms of plot role if not acting, is Paul Mescal’s main character Hanno, introduced as a humble farmer living near an unnamed city in the North African region then known as Numidia. Not even a few minutes after the movie begins is the call to aid sounded from the city walls. The Romans have arrived, and as Hanno finds out when the city’s army is defeated, the Romans are rarely merciful in their treatment of newly conquered peoples.

Branded as a slave and shipped off to the Roman port of Ostia, where he is pitted in a ring against horrifying, uncharacteristically aggressive hairless CGI baboons, he impresses the highly influential businessman and patron of the gladiatorial games Macrinus, skillfully played by Denzel Washington, who purchases him. In subsequent dialogues, the cynical Hanno is asked what will motivate him to fight to the death in his service. His lofty request – the head of Acacius, the general that led the expedition into Numidia – is granted, and Macrinus is not one bit sarcastic about his intention to make good on his promise. He, in fact, has his eyes on the throne and sees his new champion as his way to curry favor with the masses of Rome and lubricate his usurpation of the supreme position.

Hanno, however, should not have been so quick to judge Acacius. As is revealed in his first meeting with the delightfully decadent, happy-go-lucky twin Emperors Geta and Caracalla (partially inspired, if Wikipedia is to be believed, by Beavis and Butthead of all muses), the general was just following orders in his Numidian campaign, and does not agree with the brothers’ policy of reckless expansionism. With the support of the disgruntled Senators, he has his own designs on the throne, from which he seeks to end the corruption and restore the fairness of the Roman Republic. 

The grand games commence, but Macrinus has his finger in every pie. After winning a bet against the corrupt Senator Thraex, he extracts details of Acacius’ impending coup from him in return for debt forgiveness, and has the scheming general branded as a traitor and pitted into the arena. After handily defeating the first wave of condemned convicts, the crowd, which is at this point no longer able to contain their anger with the current government, loudly cheers for Acacius in a tacit expression of their disapproval for the regime’s decisions, just as Hanno enters the ring for a final showdown. Geta and Caracalla take notice, but so does Macrinus, who is one step ahead – realising that showing no mercy to the general could initiate a revolt that paves the way for him to take power, he goads the twins into ordering Hanno not to accept his former enemy’s surrender. Hanno, however, has realised that Acacius is on his side, and the honor of ending his life is left to the archers of the Praetorian Guard.

In the intrigue-filled chaos following the unpopular verdict, the twin Emperors and the mother of “Hanno” – revealed in a dramatic moment to actually be Lucius Verus Aurelius, the son of the “Gladiator I” protagonist Maximus, and the illegitimate heir to the dynasty that Acacius sought to restore – lose their lives, and it seems that Macrinus is ready to take the throne. However, the usurper has competition – the revolting gladiators bring a message to Acacius’ rebel army still massed outside of the city, and Lucius emerges victorious in a final showdown, eager to restore the Republican ideal to Rome.

Those who have seen the first “Gladiator” will no doubt notice the similarities, and when the sequel is criticized for rehashing many of the first film’s plot amplifies further criticism of historical inaccuracy. The original had veered into alternate history territory with its portrayal of highly fictionalised real events, leading to different outcomes compared to reality. However, the timeline was reset to the way it was in the real world, only so that the sequel can break it again.