What Caesar wanted...
*** GLADIATOR 2 ***
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Last: 12 hrs ago by Wolfpac 08
I've managed to avoid spoilers or reviews for this movie; just wondering if people who have seen it think it's the kind of action that has to be seen on a big screen. Haven't been to a theater in while, and was thinking this might be one that's better experienced on a wall.
Jugstore Cowboy said:
I've managed to avoid spoilers or reviews for this movie; just wondering if people who have seen it think it's the kind of action that has to be seen on a big screen. Haven't been to a theater in while, and was thinking this might be one that's better experienced on a wall.
I would say YES. Go see it in imax. Sit back, relax, and prepare your eyes for a feast.
CNN is an enemy of the state and should be treated as such.
It looks good in theaterJugstore Cowboy said:
I've managed to avoid spoilers or reviews for this movie; just wondering if people who have seen it think it's the kind of action that has to be seen on a big screen. Haven't been to a theater in while, and was thinking this might be one that's better experienced on a wall.
Saw it Saturday before A&M game. Thought it was very ok.
Crowe had the gravitas to not say much but convey everything, did not feel like Mescal was able to pull that off and the movie suffered because of it.
Thought the twin emperors were really interesting and I wish they'd be more prominently featured as the big bads rather than what they went with.
Agree that trying to shoehorn call backs to the first movie was a mistake. I would've preferred that we just move on to an entirely different gladiator with a story unrelated to the first movie. You could still reference Maximus without all the tie-ins they forced into this movie. The movie is called Gladiator, not Maximus, and to me that gives you the freedom to tell any story you want so long as you are featuring a Gladiator in the telling.
Crowe had the gravitas to not say much but convey everything, did not feel like Mescal was able to pull that off and the movie suffered because of it.
Thought the twin emperors were really interesting and I wish they'd be more prominently featured as the big bads rather than what they went with.
Agree that trying to shoehorn call backs to the first movie was a mistake. I would've preferred that we just move on to an entirely different gladiator with a story unrelated to the first movie. You could still reference Maximus without all the tie-ins they forced into this movie. The movie is called Gladiator, not Maximus, and to me that gives you the freedom to tell any story you want so long as you are featuring a Gladiator in the telling.
Massive away win for the little fella. pic.twitter.com/uu8xpK1Jky
— Geoff Norcott (@GeoffNorcott) December 2, 2024
Absolutely! The opening battle scenes and all the scenes in the Colosseum were made for the big screen.Jugstore Cowboy said:
I've managed to avoid spoilers or reviews for this movie; just wondering if people who have seen it think it's the kind of action that has to be seen on a big screen. Haven't been to a theater in while, and was thinking this might be one that's better experienced on a wall.
I am not the Six Million Dollar Man, but I might need that surgery. "We have the technology, we can rebuild him!"
I thought the movie was pretty good. But Wowsers...the gore was on another level from the first one. Could have done without some of that
LawHall88 said:Massive away win for the little fella. pic.twitter.com/uu8xpK1Jky
— Geoff Norcott (@GeoffNorcott) December 2, 2024
Isn't that a home win?
Not across the pond. Home is listed first.
CCAg95 said:
Not across the pond. Home is listed first.
Thanks!
It was.MaroonStain said:
Hate to be 'That Guy' butt this will be ass stank.
Wholly disjointed, poorly edited, forgettable musical score, uninspiring lead actor (seriously, Paul Mescal could put me to sleep with some of those line deliveries). Even Pedro felt like he was reading lines at times. I've heard better accents at the Texas Renaissance Festival. Denzel, while fun and entertaining to watch on film, sounded like he just stepped off the set of The Equalizer. I didn't go in expecting G1 - but damn, I didn't think Ridley Scott would put out something that embarrassing. Trust me, I turned my brain off and found myself glancing at my phone several times. I swore I heard the Wilhelm Scream at least 1-2 times in that opening invasion scene.
Set pieces and costumes were great. Fun to see a lively, ancient Rome. The Colosseum was entertaining.
If I have to hear Paul Mescal say "Well, I'm no general or orator...BUT"
The last 15 minutes left you scratching your head - comical ending.
I needed some of Ravi's opium \ Dragon Breath for that one.
We saw it last night. I thought it was extremely disjointed during the first half. To the point that I thought this is a cheesy remake of the first with a lower budget and less attention to quality acting. I have to say by the end of the movie I thought it was a quality flick and I was glad I had seen it in a theater. My teenage boys loved it. I will say that comments above about lacking the movie star rung true. There is no Russell Crowe in his prime in this movie. The use of CGI also bugged me given how little there was in the first one. But all in all we had a great evening at the movies and that doesn't happen a lot these days for us as we struggle to find quality movies we enjoy. I'd go see it again.
Watched it this afternoon. Certainly nowhere near as good as the first bit pretty solid. That scene with the sharks was just absolutely absurd though and made 0 sense to have something like that in the movie
I did enjoy the subtle Denzel character trait of his sense of smell. At least 3 times during the film he uses his nose to move the dialogue along. First meeting Lucius, "get that stench off of you", Walks into the brothel or Sentaors house "I smell you're partaking in all Rome has to offer" After the first gladiator games, " I smell Dragon's Breathe"
That made me love Denzel more as an actor. He left no stone unturned when creating this character. Did anyone else catch this?
That made me love Denzel more as an actor. He left no stone unturned when creating this character. Did anyone else catch this?
Went to a daytime showing of this today as I love the original and really wanted to see this one in theaters. It had some rough spots but not nearly as bad as some are making it out to be IMO.
Mescal's ascent was more than a little quick (you've been here a week? time to go fight at the emperors' party!) but he had some fun moments, definitely trying to channel Russell Crowe more often than not. Denzel was over the top and great and I thought Pedro Pascal did a good job, also liked the Ravi character. Overall it had some fun action and tied back into the original well enough.
Not nearly the classic the first film is, but worth a big screen watch if you're a fan.
Mescal's ascent was more than a little quick (you've been here a week? time to go fight at the emperors' party!) but he had some fun moments, definitely trying to channel Russell Crowe more often than not. Denzel was over the top and great and I thought Pedro Pascal did a good job, also liked the Ravi character. Overall it had some fun action and tied back into the original well enough.
Not nearly the classic the first film is, but worth a big screen watch if you're a fan.
If Gladiator 1 was an 8.5/10 this was a 5/10. Very unimaginative
I was entertained. There were moments where Mescal was a twin of Mel Gibson in both looks and sounding like him.
The gore was over the top.
The Emperors were creepy psychos.
Connie Nielsen is gorgeous.
I feel like this movie created an opportunity for a third film that is a prequel of Denzel's slave life under Marcus Aurelius, not that I want to see a movie about that. I think this property should be done now.
"What's your real name?"
"You'll never know."
That's my very sophisticated review of this film.
The gore was over the top.
The Emperors were creepy psychos.
Connie Nielsen is gorgeous.
I feel like this movie created an opportunity for a third film that is a prequel of Denzel's slave life under Marcus Aurelius, not that I want to see a movie about that. I think this property should be done now.
"What's your real name?"
"You'll never know."
That's my very sophisticated review of this film.
Without shark battle - 6 out of 10
With shark battle - 2 out of 10
Just dumb and added nothing to the film.
With shark battle - 2 out of 10
Just dumb and added nothing to the film.
Finally watched it on streaming with my 12 year old superfan of all things action. She's seen the original once, about 2-1/2 years ago, and only remembered Maximus' son as the kid who got killed on the farm, so that took some painful explaining.
Positives
1. Denzel - really fantastic, for 80% of the movie, and I even dug him "helping" Short STD Emperor killing Eddie from Strange Things Emperor. When he suddenly killed the other Emperor with seemingly no one watching and then shot Lucilla dead from 250 yards away then didn't ride back to his own Army instead of fighting a guy half his age with no armor on, when said guy literally could not be beaten, well that was an issue.
2. Other than the sharks, the water battle was pretty good - slick strategy to take out the other side's boat, instead of some sort of BS.
3. I'd like to think that Mando literally never wearing his helmet in any battle was a nod to The Mandalorian where he always wears it.
Negatives
1. The problem with Denzel being so excellent was that the movie didn't really have a real villain for most of the time. Almost immediately we know that Mando isn't really the bad guy, and the two Emperors were two stupid to be scary.
2. None of the other gladiators got any sort of personality development other than the doctor. The first one had Hagen and Juba, this one had nobody.
3. The lack of Hans Zimmer except for a few times. The opening battle in Gladiator is defined by the soundtrack. This opening battle was strategically better, but flat without the soundtrack.
WTFs
1. Why do you build the entire scene after the deaths of Commodus and Maximus, de-age Connie Nielsen, and NOT use a kid about the same size and look as original Lucius and slap his digital face on there? Out of all the random CGI use in this movie, I just can't understand it.
2. How you going to let Gracchus survive so much crazy and get killed in the last 15 minutes?
3. Should have been an end-credits scene where the Monkey has taken over as Emperor.
Positives
1. Denzel - really fantastic, for 80% of the movie, and I even dug him "helping" Short STD Emperor killing Eddie from Strange Things Emperor. When he suddenly killed the other Emperor with seemingly no one watching and then shot Lucilla dead from 250 yards away then didn't ride back to his own Army instead of fighting a guy half his age with no armor on, when said guy literally could not be beaten, well that was an issue.
2. Other than the sharks, the water battle was pretty good - slick strategy to take out the other side's boat, instead of some sort of BS.
3. I'd like to think that Mando literally never wearing his helmet in any battle was a nod to The Mandalorian where he always wears it.
Negatives
1. The problem with Denzel being so excellent was that the movie didn't really have a real villain for most of the time. Almost immediately we know that Mando isn't really the bad guy, and the two Emperors were two stupid to be scary.
2. None of the other gladiators got any sort of personality development other than the doctor. The first one had Hagen and Juba, this one had nobody.
3. The lack of Hans Zimmer except for a few times. The opening battle in Gladiator is defined by the soundtrack. This opening battle was strategically better, but flat without the soundtrack.
WTFs
1. Why do you build the entire scene after the deaths of Commodus and Maximus, de-age Connie Nielsen, and NOT use a kid about the same size and look as original Lucius and slap his digital face on there? Out of all the random CGI use in this movie, I just can't understand it.
2. How you going to let Gracchus survive so much crazy and get killed in the last 15 minutes?
3. Should have been an end-credits scene where the Monkey has taken over as Emperor.
Regarding Gracchus, was he de-aged in this movie? I was surprised to see him period. He was old 25 damn years ago. I just assumed he was ancient in real life by now.
Those Roman spas work wonders!
Imdb says he was 62 in 2000 and 86 in 2024. He was in the film version of Othello in 1965.YouBet said:
Regarding Gracchus, was he de-aged in this movie? I was surprised to see him period. He was old 25 damn years ago. I just assumed he was ancient in real life by now.
Finally watched last night since it's now on Prime. I really loved the film and thought it was great! Definitely a worthy successor.
It was fine. Agree with those who said it would've been much better served to have no direct ties to the original.
The biggest problem for me was Lucius. With Maximus, you're rooting for that dude as hard as you can. Had his mentor/father figure/whatever murdered, gets taken out to the woods to be executed, and finds his family murdered and house burnt to the ground. He knows exactly who to blame.
Lucius sees his wife get arrowed in a massive battle. Bummer for sure, but pins all that "hate" and "fury" on the general of the army? Who then through about 5 minutes of storytelling he completely forgives? Meh.
The biggest problem for me was Lucius. With Maximus, you're rooting for that dude as hard as you can. Had his mentor/father figure/whatever murdered, gets taken out to the woods to be executed, and finds his family murdered and house burnt to the ground. He knows exactly who to blame.
Lucius sees his wife get arrowed in a massive battle. Bummer for sure, but pins all that "hate" and "fury" on the general of the army? Who then through about 5 minutes of storytelling he completely forgives? Meh.
The turn in motivation for Lucius vs Acacius was definitely abrupt. If they'd somehow built it up a bit more, maybe with him slowly learning more about the behind the scenes plotting leading into the fight, it would've made a lot more sense.
I watched this on Paramount Plus yesterday and 5/10 feels generous for this movie.Sophon7 said:
If Gladiator 1 was an 8.5/10 this was a 5/10. Very unimaginative
Coming back just to **** on this again -
A buddy of mine mentioned it was on Paramount and I stopped him mid sentence and instead we watched The Substance.
I'd like to take a Maximus dump on this movie.
A buddy of mine mentioned it was on Paramount and I stopped him mid sentence and instead we watched The Substance.
I'd like to take a Maximus dump on this movie.
Was it really that bad? I haven't spent a penny on it yet.
Cromagnum said:
Was it really that bad? I haven't spent a penny on it yet.
It was just pointless and nothing about it was epic or even worthwhile.
Nothing about the movie, especially a botoxed Connie Nelson, felt like it was a natural progression of the original story or characters. It was a forced and pointless sequel... Gladiator should have remained a stand alone movie epic.
No, it wasn't.Cromagnum said:
Was it really that bad? I haven't spent a penny on it yet.
It's not the original (and what is?), but it's a fun popcorn movie with some brutal action that calls back to some great characters.
jr15aggie said:Cromagnum said:
Was it really that bad? I haven't spent a penny on it yet.
It was just pointless and nothing about it was epic or even worthwhile.
Nothing about the movie, especially a botoxed Connie Nelson, felt like it was a natural progression of the original story or characters. It was a forced and pointless sequel... Gladiator should have remained a stand alone movie epic.
Still a smoke show.
Glad I read this before renting/buying. We almost did it over the holidays because we replaced an old 1080P projector w/a new 4k 98" TV. It was only $5 more to purchase vs rent but for whatever reason it never happened.
I'll definitely wait for it to stream once "free" on one of the services we use. I'm still looking forward to seeing it in the media room w/the big TV and surround sound. Hopefully it'll stream in 4k w/the appropriate audio or whatnot.
I'll definitely wait for it to stream once "free" on one of the services we use. I'm still looking forward to seeing it in the media room w/the big TV and surround sound. Hopefully it'll stream in 4k w/the appropriate audio or whatnot.
All roads lead to home. #GladiatorII is now streaming on Paramount+ pic.twitter.com/K2z4mKbZku
— Paramount+ (@paramountplus) January 21, 2025
A big "meh". 3 out of 10. Wasted time. Story line sucked. Main actor couldn't hold Russel Crowe's jock.
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