--- title: "Gladiator II" year: 2024 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/gladiator-ii" fi1m_id: "gladiator-ii" imdb_id: "tt9218128" tmdb_id: 558449 wikidata_id: "Q115789958" fi1m_score: 64 critics_score: 68 critics_reviews: 17 published: "2026-09-09" updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:57.309326+00:00" region: "RO" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Gladiator II (2024) Directed by Ridley Scott · 2h 28m · RO 12 · Action, Adventure, Drama ## Identity Gladiator II - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/gladiator-ii - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** gladiator-ii - **IMDb ID:** tt9218128 - **TMDB ID:** 558449 - **Wikidata ID:** Q115789958 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9218128/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/558449, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q115789958 **Fi1m score: 64** · Critics 68 from 17 reviews *In a sentence:* Denzel Washington pockets the whole film while Ridley Scott puts sharks in the Colosseum > Ridley Scott has made his own film again, louder and with sharks. It is handsome and rarely dull, but Paul Mescal is given a grudge where a character should be, and only Denzel Washington seems to know what kind of film he is in. ## Synopsis Sixteen years after the events of *Gladiator*, Lucius (Paul Mescal) lives in Numidia, on the North African coast, with his wife Arishat (Yuval Gonen). A Roman fleet under General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) arrives to take the city. Lucius survives the fighting and is sold into a troupe of gladiators owned by Macrinus (Denzel Washington), a dealer in men with an eye on Rome itself. The city is ruled by twin emperors, Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), who spend on games what they will not spend on the army. Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), now Acacius’s wife, watches the new arrival from the imperial box. Ridley Scott directs. ## Review Twenty-four years after *Gladiator*, Ridley Scott goes back to the arena. A soldier in Numidia (Paul Mescal) watches Roman ships come over the horizon, loses everything to them, and is sold to a dealer in gladiators called Macrinus (Denzel Washington), who takes him to Rome and puts him in front of two mad emperors. If that sounds familiar, it should. *Gladiator II* is the first film with the names changed and the volume up, and it is decent, well built and finally rather empty. See it for Washington, who is having a better time than anyone else, on screen or off. The opening is the best of it. Acacius (Pedro Pascal) brings his fleet against the walls of a coastal city, and Scott shoots the assault the way he shot Normandy for other people: ships grinding onto rocks, ladders going up, burning oil coming down. John Mathieson lights it in a flat morning grey so the fire reads as the only colour in the frame. Claire Simpson and Sam Restivo cut it clean, so that we always know which wall is falling and who is on it. Then the film moves to Rome, where the Colosseum has been rebuilt as a machine for cruelty, with trapdoors and a floor that floods, and the picture gets bigger and less interesting at the same rate. Washington is the reason to stay. Macrinus wears rings on every finger and a smile that arrives a beat before the sentence, and Washington plays him as a man who finds the whole Roman establishment funny and intends to own it anyway. He stresses the wrong word in a line, on purpose, and gets a laugh the script did not write. He touches senators on the arm as if measuring them for something. Every time he walks into a room the film sits up, and every time he leaves it slumps. Mescal has the harder job and nothing to do it with. David Scarpa’s screenplay, from a story by Scarpa and Peter Craig, gives Lucius a dead wife, a grudge and a secret, and mistakes those for a person. Mescal scowls, fights well and delivers the speeches with conviction, but he is never allowed to want anything except the next man’s death. Pascal is solid and underused as the general who has stopped believing in Rome. Connie Nielsen returns as Lucilla and does a great deal with looks across the arena, because that is mostly what she is given. The emperors are the film’s idea of fun. Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger play Geta and Caracalla as two spoilt children who have been handed the world. It is broad, and it is meant to be, but it belongs to a different film from the one Mescal is in, and Scott does not choose. Here is what we felt. When the arena filled with water and the sharks appeared, we laughed, loud and not unkindly, and so did the rest of the cinema, and the film seemed pleased. A rhinoceros, ridden, had done the same job twenty minutes earlier. Harry Gregson-Williams’s score swells whenever the film wants grief from us instead, and we found we had none to give. That is the trade the film has made. It has bought our laughter with animals and has nothing left over to buy our grief. *Gladiator* had one man, one loss and one enemy, and it trusted them for two and a half hours. This has three plots, two emperors, a senate and a coup, and it runs 148 minutes because the plots need the time rather than because the people do. Scott can still stage a siege better than almost anyone working, and the craft here is not in question. What is in question is why anyone thought the story needed telling twice. See it on the largest screen you can find, with people who will laugh at the sharks with you. At home the animals look like what they are and the emperors look like what they are, and Washington is the only thing that survives the shrinking. It carries a 15 certificate. *Fi1m score 64, published 9 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics agree on two things: Denzel Washington walks off with the film, and Ridley Scott can still stage a battle. Nearly every review, favourable or not, singles out his scheming Macrinus, and the arena set-pieces, sharks and rhinos included, are widely enjoyed as spectacle. Paul Mescal divides opinion more. Several find him commanding; others think the script gives Lucius too little to work with. The reservations cluster around the story, which many describe as a remake of the original in all but name, following its beats closely and lacking its emotional pull. The spread is wide. The more enthusiastic reviews, including Empire and Deadline, take it as a knowing romp and enjoy it on those terms. The dissenters are a minority but a sharp one: Vulture finds the film short on the earnestness the genre needs and closer to accidental comedy, while The AV Club calls it exhausted and dull beneath the digital carnage. ## Straight answers **Is Gladiator II worth watching?** *Gladiator II* is worth watching for anyone who wants a big, handsomely staged Roman spectacle and does not mind that it retells the first film with the names changed, and we scored it 64. Denzel Washington is the reason to stay; Paul Mescal is given a grudge where a character should be. See it on the largest screen you can find. **How long is Gladiator II, and what is it rated?** *Gladiator II* runs 2h 28m and is rated 12 by the RO in Romania. It is an action and adventure film. **Where can I watch Gladiator II in Romania?** *Gladiator II* is streaming on Netflix in Romania, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from lei 9.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Gladiator II, and is it suitable for children?** *Gladiator II* carries a 15 certificate in the UK and is rated R in the US, so it is not for children. The violence is sustained and often brutal: a naval siege with burning oil, arena fights to the death, men set against animals, including sharks in a flooded Colosseum. Older teenagers who can take that will manage; the squeamish will not enjoy it. ### Reviews we read (21) - **Empire**, Boyd Hilton (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it a fun romp and a hell of a ride that delivers big, baroque spectacle and set-pieces without taking itself too seriously. Praise goes to the fearlessness of its swings and Ridley Scott unleashing his vision. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/gladiator-ii/) - **Radio Times**, James Mottram (4/5): Ridley Scott stages jaw-dropping set pieces in this sturdy sequel that revels in its more ludicrous qualities. Paul Mescal offers a commanding turn as Lucius, supported by excellent performances from Pedro Pascal and Denzel Washington. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/gladiator-ii-review/) - **The i Paper**, Christina Newland (80/100, inferred): The review finds it exhilarating and satisfying, a rare sequel that lives up to the original with panache and tongue-in-cheek humour. It singles out the rousing action set-pieces and strong lead performances for praise. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/gladiator-2-review-3374241) - **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (4/5): Ridley Scott’s brawny, bloodthirsty sequel is a colossally entertaining ride with brutal extravagance in its action and scale. Paul Mescal proves his charisma scales to a monster blockbuster, and Denzel Washington is a flamboyant trump card. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/gladiator-ii-review-2024) - **Evening Standard**, Nick Curtis (75/100, inferred): The critic deems it stirring, gung-ho stuff that looks ravishing with crunching action scenes. Paul Mescal is praised as the pumping heart exuding charisma and testosterone. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/gladiator-ii-review-paul-mescal-pedro-pascal-ridley-scott-rome-b1193327.html) - **Los Angeles Times**, Katie Walsh (70/100, inferred): Though more of the same and lacking sophisticated storytelling, the spectacle does not falter and Gladiator II is the best-looking Scott film in years with an excellent cast led by Washington’s peacocking performance. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-11-21/gladiator-ii-review-paul-mescal-denzel-washington-ridley-scott) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, David Rooney (70/100, inferred): The sequel delivers the expected brutal spectacle, elaborate sets, and vigorous battles but feels like a slavish imitation of the original with a strong sense of déjà vu. Denzel Washington stands out as a scene-stealing presence amid the familiar Roman intrigue and violence. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/gladiator-ii-review-paul-mescal-denzel-washington-ridley-scott-1236057985/) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (65/100, inferred): The critic finds the sequel entertaining and spectacular but notes it is highly derivative of the original, essentially a remake with added silliness like sharks and rhinos but lacking fresh ideas. Denzel Washington’s performance as Macrinus is singled out as the standout. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/nov/17/gladiator-ii-review-paul-mescal-denzel-washington-ridley-scott-formulaic-sequel) - **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (60/100, inferred): It is a solid piece of neoclassical popcorn with Denzel Washington taking command as the villain, but it is ultimately a mere shadow of Gladiator and just diverting enough to justify its existence. [Read](https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/gladiator-2-review-paul-mescal-denzel-washington-pedro-pascal-ridley-scott-1236204115/) - **The AV Club**, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky (C): The maximalist sequel fails to replicate the original's charisma, coming across as both bad history and bad historical fiction with an air of exhausted decadence. Over-the-top emperors and digital carnage cannot mask the prevailing sense of boredom and weak thematic parallels. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/gladiator-ii-review) - **The New Yorker**, Justin Chang (50/100, inferred): After a propulsive opening the film recedes into the long shadow of its predecessor; the arena battles entertain but the sudden turn to civics lesson rings hollow as it panders to bloodlust. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/12/02/wicked-movie-review-gladiator) - **Vulture**, Alison Willmore (40/100, inferred): Ridley Scott’s sequel lacks the earnestness needed for brawny historical epics, landing instead in an uneasy mix of inadvertent and intentional comedy that leaves audiences more likely to snicker than weep. Denzel Washington fares best as the scheming Macrinus with unpredictable line readings and a wolfish grin. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/gladiator-ii-review-sorry-but-men-deserve-better-than-this.html) - **Screen Daily**: Paul Mescal brings rugged masculinity to the role in this brawny spectacle that cannot quite match the stirring spirit of the original. Denzel Washington’s devilish schemer steals the picture, though Ridley Scott retains his flair for grandeur. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/gladiator-ii-review/5198467.article) - **Sight and Sound**, Guy Lodge: Denzel Washington’s extravagant performance brings vigour to Ridley Scott’s proficient retread of his Roman blockbuster. The film is a sequel that effectively doubles as a remake, closely mirroring the original’s narrative while feeling like a pro forma blockbuster. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/gladiator-ii-sequel-that-effectively-doubles-remake) - **The New York Times**, Manohla Dargis (Critic’s Pick): Denzel Washington’s performance shows skill, intensity and absolute confidence in Ridley Scott’s pleasurably immersive epic about ancient Roman fighters. It is a performance of charismatic evil and of mesmerizing stardom both. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/21/movies/gladiator-ii-review.html) - **Deadline**, Pete Hammond (85/100, inferred): The critic finds Ridley Scott's sequel a riveting and worthy follow-up that breathes new life into the gladiator epic. Paul Mescal's compelling performance as Lucius and Denzel Washington's superb turn as the devious Macrinus are singled out for praise. [Read](https://deadline.com/2024/11/gladiator-ii-review-paul-mescal-denzel-washington-ridley-scotts-long-awaited-sequel-best-picture-oscar-winner-1236172181/) - **Collider**, Ross Bonaime (7/10): The critic finds Gladiator II a worthwhile but lesser sequel that expands the world through political intrigue and strong supporting performances, especially Denzel Washington, while praising Ridley Scott's scale in action sequences. It falls short by leaning too heavily on the original film's story beats, leaving Paul Mescal's lead character feeling underdeveloped in comparison. [Read](https://collider.com/gladiator-2-review/) - **Digital Spy**, Mireia Mullor (70/100, inferred): Entertaining and visually spectacular with strong action, but lacks emotional punch and connection to characters compared to the first film. [Read](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a62813863/gladiator-2-review/) - **/Film**, Chris Evangelista (7/10): The film is sturdy, solid, enjoyable blockbuster filmmaking and a testament to Ridley Scott's skill as an entertainer even at an advanced age. Denzel Washington's scene-stealing performance as the villain stands out as the best part. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1708857/gladiator-2-ridley-scott-sequel-review/) - **NME**, Alex Flood (3/5): Fun action and good cast, but too reliant on nostalgia without creating new memorable moments or emotional depth. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/gladiator-2-review-paul-mescal-3811514) - **Den of Geek**, David Crow (4 out of 5): The critic praises the visual spectacle and entertainment value but notes it lacks the emotional depth of the original, excelling in action and excess. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/gladiator-2-review/) ## Details - **Director:** Ridley Scott - **Director:** Ridley Scott - **Screenplay:** David Scarpa - **Story:** Peter Craig, David Scarpa - **Cinematography:** John Mathieson - **Editor:** Claire Simpson, Sam Restivo - **Music:** Harry Gregson-Williams - **Production design:** Arthur Max - **Costume design:** Janty Yates, David Crossman - **Producer:** Michael Pruss, David Franzoni, Douglas Wick - **Cast:** Paul Mescal as Lucius; Denzel Washington as Macrinus; Pedro Pascal as General Acacius; Connie Nielsen as Lucilla; Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta; Fred Hechinger as Emperor Caracalla; Lior Raz as Viggo; Derek Jacobi as Gracchus - **Runtime:** 2h 28m - **Certificate (RO):** 12 - **Release (Romania):** 15 November 2024 - **Genres:** Action, Adventure, Drama - **Budget:** $310 million - **Box office:** $462 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQwSz88ITAE ## Where to watch in Romania - Netflix: streaming - Amazon Prime Video: rent lei 9.99, uhd - Amazon Prime Video: buy lei 29.99, uhd *Checked 2026-09-10.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Spartacus* (1960): Kubrick’s arena picture, with an actual argument about slavery under the sandals. - *Rome* (2005): The senate intrigue this film gestures at, given twenty-two hours and some wit. - *The Fall of the Roman Empire* (1964): Same emperors, same succession crisis, and a forum built at full size in Spain. - *Kingdom of Heaven* (2005): Scott’s other sword film, and his best in the director’s cut; find that version. - *Agora* (2009), Fi1m 66: Late antiquity from Spain, with Rachel Weisz and no sharks whatsoever. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/agora.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/gladiator-ii