Hannah’s review published on Letterboxd:
"His name was Maximus Decimus Meridius, and I see him in you."
Rehashes a lot from the first one into a film that feels very much like a 2024 blockbuster, but I was still most definitely entertained. Denzel is having the time of his life in his role, and the action scenes are just incredible throughout, no complaints there. Paul Mescal proves that he can do mainstream leading roles like this (although king is better at emotional warfare than physical I feel), and the callbacks to the first one are cheap fanservice but nevertheless fun to see.
While not devoid of soul, it's definitely inferior to its predecessor, and as much as I love him, Paul Mescal can't quite match the aura Russel Crowe had back in 2000. I think there's a lot you could criticise about Gladiator 2 (the underwhelming ending, the bland characters, no standout performances, the historical... liberties), but for a big-budget crowd-plesser it certainly does what it says on the tin. It's honestly better to turn your brain off and just enjoy it for the brilliant action film it is.
"What we do in life echoes in eternity."
Alsooo I watched Juror #2 today which I loved so so much, I gotta say the second half of 2024 is serving some great movies!!
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