edwin 𖤐’s review published on Letterboxd:
An entertaining, brutal and mighty spectacle
Gladiator is one of the greatest films ever made. It finally brought Ridley Scott the attention that he deserved, and won Best Picture at the Oscars — though he lost Best Director. I was highly skeptical of a sequel being made, but my interest grew more and more as time went on, but some recent news almost made me refund my tickets.
Apparently, May Calamawy (who’s Palestinian) was cast, announced as the lead, and then it was said that her scenes were either significantly reduced or cut entirely. I had been waiting months for this movie — and that controversy almost made me skip my 9am showing. But, in honor of my bestie’s birthday, I decided to go watch it anyways. This is the earliest that I’ve ever been to a movie theater, and it was worth it.
It is without a doubt that Gladiator II is amazing. At the age of 86, Scott has not lost his sense of spectacle. His direction is really good and genuinely loved the action scenes — which are just as brutal and mighty as its marvelous predecessor. The performances from the cast, especially Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, a scene-stealing Denzel Washington, and Joseph Quinn — all amazing. The story itself is not as emotionally engaging as the last movie, but everything else makes up for it.
It may have a $200 million+ budget, but the visuals are great, and the cinematography shows off the movie’s grand scale — even at a slightly shorter, though still long 2 hour and 28 minute length. I was highly engaged with the movie, and though I did see it early in the morning, the people that were in the IMAX theater were hyped the FUCK up! Mescal has been killing it with his acting, and this movie has made him a superstar.
An immense, epic spectacle that cements itself as one of this year’s best films, Gladiator II shows proof that — even at 86 years old (87 in a week from now), Ridley Scott still kicks a lot of ass with his directing. It’s nearly as good as its predecessor, and I had such a great time watching this in IMAX. I’m seeing Wicked in the same format later today, and I’m so damn excited to pull off this double feature.
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