I am so used to the setup/character introduction chapter of a film i was caught wonderfully off guard when it just starts and keeps going. It was almost slice of life, tagging along over the course of an exciting few weeks.
Ridley Scott has a good strategy going: Just keep cranking out films and, once you finally die/retire, people will only remember the five or ten great flicks you made and forget the 30 or 40 bad ones.
Totally agree. His top 5 for me are Alien, Blade Runner, The Duellists, Gladiator and Black Rain and no matter how many movies he makes, his classics just keep getting better with age.
@@geekinwithJamesHancock Good to see someone else shares my love for Black Rain. Along with To Live And Die In LA, it's one of the best 80s cop action flicks.
James Hancock has opinions and they are interesting and worth watching. I started watching zjames for his Westworld coverage and I stayed because I LIKE him and I’m not going anywhere!!!!!!!!!
High five, Larry! I think I've alienated just about everyone who followed me during the Westworld days and I'm thrilled and delighted to hear that you're still following the channel.
Oh you chose the perfect clip dude! At 8:05 - the second ‘are you not entertained?’ - look at the crowd- the last dude on the left is clearly wearing Levi’s and managing a big ass camera 😂
Caught by surprise, when you mentioned that Derek Jacobi is back for this sequel. He's about the same age of Ridley Scott and I'm happy that he's still acting. He's such a talented man.
I saw an advanced screening of Gladiator II at Regal, and it was awesome. I knew it wasn't going to be as good as the first one. I didn't know that Denzel Washington's character would steal the show. He had an excellent story arch, and I liked watching him climb the political ladder through manipulation.
Same. I felt like he whipped out a lot of his training from his early days of performing Shakespeare here in NYC. I think most of the movie's problems stem from the script, the score and too many digital effects.
I think I got the multiple cuts mixed up with Oliver Stone's Alexander which came out around the same time which did have multiple cuts. In any event, I've never seen the theatrical cut of Kingdom of Heaven but loved the director's cut.
I'm eagerly awaiting the box office report on Sunday to see how well they've performed. I hope the two movies getting released side by side end up helping with ticket sales instead of cannibalizing them.
Same. I've seen every movie he's ever made and they were all were worth seeing even if I place movies like Alien, The Duellists and Blade Runner on a much higher pedestal.
I would need to roll up my sleeves and do some serious homework. One of my big blind spots is the Spartacus TV show which I know people love and adore.
I read somewhere that Ridley Scott was no better than the script he was given, and I agree with this. I really enjoyed A Good Year by Peter Mayle, and I enjoyed the movie, which had Russell Crowe. Peter Mayle was friends with Ridley Scott, they both lived in Provence in the south of France.
I gotta be honest, I enjoyed watching this one more than the first one. Something about the fidelity of the production/sound design and the pacing had me on the edge of my seat. The action and acting wasn't bad either. Truly epic directing!
Had a second viewing yesterday, this time in an Imax scree i really enjoyed it even more this time, its a true Big Screen movie. I really hope there is a Gladiator III, i love how Ridley brings that workd to life.
@geekinwithJamesHancock Yeah, produced by Dino De Laurentiis, huge budget, all star cast, came out shortly after Spartacus. Has a real eclipse of the sun caught on film during the crucifixion scene.
We all know his distaste for shooting in Japan with the high cost. Imagine what it would cost for him today. Black Rain is my favorite of his. And thanks to Tony, you Moose for getting me on The Game trilogy. I need to revisit that tonight.
Totally fair. I'm seeing so many psychotic responses out there that seem totally out of proportion to a movie that I think is pretty much okay but unremarkable.
Scott gets to direct movies of this scale because he is the owner of his own production company: Scott/Free. Which besides being his own production company also hires many directors for TV and film projects... so I guess he has access to a lot of resource$ (similar to Spielberg).
I wonder how much they spent on marketing? Not sure what their breakeven point will be but if they receive roughly 50% of theatrical revenue, this thing needs to be a massive hit in order for Paramount to hold its head high.
Caught this last night I really was completely entertained Denzel steals this film and his full Villain turn is crazy towards the end 😊 I’m with you on the opening credits I thought they worked Harkens back to historical painting
Totally. I've seen the original more times than I can count but I loved the title sequence and how they set the tone for the continuation of the story.
He was awful the guy gets his hand cut off and doesn’t make a sound 🤦🏻♂️ when he shoots Lucious mother in a middle of chaos he peacefully requests the arrow. Just awful acting
Great review as always James, thanks. A small thing but I really wish Pedro Pascal would pass on a role every once in a while (not that I would pass on Gladiator 2 either) as he is becoming so over-exposed/omni-present (just like Margot Robbie) that he is starting to pull me out of the projects that he is in.
His career is definitely at risk over overheating, but I imagine he's saving up so much cash that when the bubble inevitably bursts he'll have the luxury of focusing on character actor roles for the rest of his career.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I might have had my criticisms of the movie but still had a good time at the movies. Some of the negative responses out there seem a little hyperbolic to me.
Mescal did not disappoint me. But he certainly did not entertain me. I don't know what Russel has, exactly, that Paul does not. But the deficiency for my taste was palpable. I would need to see way more to ever consider myself a fan of Mescals work. He did a nice job.. But he didn't make it Epic.... Like Chris Hemsworth would say.
I agree with you, it wasn't as good as the original but it had basically no chance at getting there. Still, it was really good and enjoyed it, even the scene with the crazy monkeys lol As for sword and sandals movies, I recommend The Last Days of Pompeii, Sergio Leone's (technically) first movie. I'm currently watching his short yet illustrious filmography with my wife and we were both impressed at how good his first directorial effort is (though he only directed a part of it but regardless).
I'm definitely going to give this a watch. As you are wearing the Hannibal tee, what were your thoughts on that movie? That's another critically divisive one. I happen to really enjoy it, even as much as Silence of the Lambs. They go well together
It's really tough to judge it in that so many of the scenes are scrambled together with my memories from working on it for six months. Usually if I want to watch a Thomas Harris adaptation, I go with Michael Mann's 'Manhunter'.
Lets think about Ridleys Scotts Movies for a moment. He does have some awesome movies. For my taste I would go, Gladiator, Alien, BladeRunner, Thelma and Louis, Prometheus. I have yet to see the Duelists. After watching Bad Lieutenant and Mean Streets, I think I will love Duelists, just waiting for the 4k Treatment to experience my first time through. You bring up an incredible point about Verhoven. For my taste he is the better director. Starship Troopers, Basic Instinct, RoboCop, and Total Recall. Hit harder than Scotts work for me personally. But I will give Gladiator the nod as best film out of the bunch, but not by much to RoboCop or Starship. Fun listening to you this evening. Gladiator 2 was not God Awful. In fact, it was in my regard, ok to half decent...
I wouldn't wait for 'The Duellists' in 4K. You never know when that will see the light of day or not. I first saw a 35mm print of the flick at the New Beverly in LA and the print probably had more scratches and pops than actual footage but it was still a brilliant movie. Well worth hunting down. And high five to a fellow Verhoeven fan! He's one of my favorite living directors. Total Hall of Famer.
World History according to Ridley Scott… from the mind that gave you Napoleon, Robin Hood, Kingdom of Heaven, House of Gucci comes Gladiator 2: Training Day where “my man!” Originates in Antiquity. 😂
Lol, I was worried about some of the things I'd heard about Denzel's performance in advance but I think his days of performing Shakespeare in NYC served him well. He definitely brought some solid gravitas to a movie that was always veering toward being over the top.
This movie was aiighttt. Nothing crazy spectacular but entertaining enough. A solid 7 outta 10. It's pretty obvious Ridley has a directors cut version that's at least 30 minutes longer. Lots of cool action set pieces but some more time should have been spent covering the political side of things but I understand why that's the parts they'd cut time from. Good not great
I think that assessment is totally fair. I haven't watched his director's cut yet for 'Napoleon' but I wonder if he has one in his back pocket for this one.
Ironically it was NOT getting into the twins past that contrasted them with Commodus, that wold have made them too much like a repeat of him I'd say. The critics here on you tube always pick on the same things- it's repeating the same story etc BUT the new differences work, well I like the symbolism of the Sea battles this time, which could represent their Marina & ship building skills helping to explain how they were able to form an empire. Spoiler alert" the son turning out to be the son of Maximus twist also worked to justify his fighting skills, plus there seemed to be a...spirtual implication, as though Max spirit lives again through his son, one critisism, they shouldnt have killed off his wife, they were doing enough with the land invasion too much like the original.I thought
I'm gonna skip this. Something about a sword-and-board epic drowning in CGI leaves me cold. If Scott wants a bizarre digital spectacle, I wish he'd gone full Jason & The Argonauts and brought us something properly weird.
My feelings exactly. I totally appreciate the criticisms out there about the copying of story beats, but I think the level of aggression expressed by some toward it has been a little over the top.
This film is to the original Gladiator what The Force Awakens is to Star Wars 1977(never called A New Hope). Copy and paste with more expensive but not better VFX.
I can't argue with it being a replica of the same formula but I thought the digital effects and underwhelming score were even more of a problem. That said, I did enjoy it even if it comes nowhere near cracking Ridley Scott's top 10 for me.
Well, I like gladiator movies, but this was quite a step down from Scott's original, which was problematic as well, but the fact that everyone thought Denzel Washington's trademark histrionics were the best thing about it confirms how second-rate it is. I'll stick with Kubrick and Douglas' SPARTACUS, and even Anthony Mann's THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, over overblown computer generated fantasies like GLADIATOR 2, which did entertain, albeit routinely. If performances are key, I can highly recommend Richard Fleischer's superbly staged BARRABAS, which is a great arena drama; even Delmer Daves piously trashy DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS has its campiness going for it. I tend to like cheap peplum over the expensive kind, but then I'm old school all the way.
I watched about half of it last night. The first one glorfied Rome. This one vilified it, calling it diseased etc. I dunno. I was trying so hard to like this one.
Got my ticket for this but skipping Wicked. The good thing about getting older is that you realize you don’t have to see everything, and an almost 3-hour part 1 of a musical with two good songs is not for me. My hopes for Gladiator II are slightly raised but honestly I’m mostly watching it to see the battle sequences in a premium cinema.
Without a doubt worth seeing on the largest screen you can find. The action was definitely stronger in the first movie, but Ridley on his worst day is still heads and shoulders better than so many other directors out there.
I think Ridley Scott's weak point tends to be his judgement concerning the story/script, and this movie is example of this. Everything else from the cinematography to the acting was good or great, but the script was choppy and nonsensical, especially towards the end. The first Gladiator film, however, did have a really good story and script and that makes all the difference. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate this movie, but I was disappointed when I had time to reflect on it. I felt it was a good for a Hollywood Blockbuster, but not a worthy sequel. If they had fixed the script, it would have been though.
The script definitely needed better dialogue but I think the biggest flaw was the musical score. Hans Zimmer's score to the original really got the blood pumping.
@@geekinwithJamesHancock I agree. The new music wasn't very memorable at all. In terms of the script, the last part where Macrinius becomes de facto emperor was blur to me. Perhaps I need to rewatch it. I didn't buy that story line. It felt extremely rushed.
That could be the case. I have a sentimental weakness for Ridley Scott's movies. He's made 29 features and I think this movie ranks around the middle of the pack or maybe a tad lower.
This movie is trash....And ''The great Denzel Washington'' was complaining in an interview that.....He did a scene where he kissed a man and they cut it out....'' cause we were not ready for it''....TRASH!
Gladiator II was tepid 5.3/10. I thought the CGI looked great, but I just didn't find the circumstance of the CGI to be plausible, hence it attracted my notice. Djimon Hounsou was the right kind of actor (super fit, super black) to be some sort of believable diversity in Gladiator. Denzel Washington looks and sounds like an african american of the 20th century, and he is known, and he was an implausible distraction every second he was on the screen. I like Denzel Washington, but not in this movie, because his appearance and his station and the power broker persona within the Roman empire was a distracting irritant. Stop ruining movies with wokeness.
I wouldn't have minded just a few cgi animals but once we saw monkeys, a rhino and sharks, it all started to feel a little over the top. Two dudes beating the crap out of each other will always be plenty entertaining for me.
1492 had the bestest bestest soundtrack and perhaps of all time by Vangelis. ❤❤❤❤❤ It was good to hear some different things being said about this movie, thanks 👍👍👍 Editted to add ... Glicked here I come on Saturday 💚🩷🥰⚔️🛡
Glad you mentioned Master and Commander. Feels like people forget how great that movie is.
fictional story that is the most historically accurate lol
So damn good. One of my favorite epics of the 21st century.
what a masterpiece,
bruh - Tugger was better
I am so used to the setup/character introduction chapter of a film i was caught wonderfully off guard when it just starts and keeps going. It was almost slice of life, tagging along over the course of an exciting few weeks.
Blackhawk Down is historical & epic! Gladiator, no matter how ridiculously unhistorical it is, still one of my all-time favorite movies.
Good call on Blackhawk Down and it definitely deserves to be included in that conversation. That femoral artery scene had me squirming in my seat.
Ridley Scott has a good strategy going: Just keep cranking out films and, once you finally die/retire, people will only remember the five or ten great flicks you made and forget the 30 or 40 bad ones.
Totally agree. His top 5 for me are Alien, Blade Runner, The Duellists, Gladiator and Black Rain and no matter how many movies he makes, his classics just keep getting better with age.
@@geekinwithJamesHancock Good to see someone else shares my love for Black Rain. Along with To Live And Die In LA, it's one of the best 80s cop action flicks.
James Hancock has opinions and they are interesting and worth watching. I started watching zjames for his Westworld coverage and I stayed because I LIKE him and I’m not going anywhere!!!!!!!!!
High five, Larry! I think I've alienated just about everyone who followed me during the Westworld days and I'm thrilled and delighted to hear that you're still following the channel.
This Comment made me smile. That’s what up
I agree. Nowhere near as great as Gladiator but who was actually expecting that. It’s still a good film, Scott and Washington being the MVPs.
Always a pleasure watching Denzel at work with either of the two Scott brothers. RIP Tony Scott.
Doesn’t come close to the original but I still thought it was really good.
I'm right there with you. Nowhere close to the original but still a good time at the movies.
I agree with you both as long as we leave are brains at home and go watch this movie for visuals :)
Oh you chose the perfect clip dude! At 8:05 - the second ‘are you not entertained?’ - look at the crowd- the last dude on the left is clearly wearing Levi’s and managing a big ass camera 😂
Lol, I'll have to zoom in for a closer look. Thanks for the heads up!
Haha, yes I see that, brilliant spot... Looks like an older white fella with grey hair, possibly Ridley himself, (but I don't think it is him().
Caught by surprise, when you mentioned that Derek Jacobi is back for this sequel. He's about the same age of Ridley Scott and I'm happy that he's still acting. He's such a talented man.
He's still totally game in spite of his advanced years and I loved the additional connective tissue his character offers to the original movie.
I remember him doing the monologue from Henry V in the 1989 version adaptation. He was so good.
I saw an advanced screening of Gladiator II at Regal, and it was awesome. I knew it wasn't going to be as good as the first one. I didn't know that Denzel Washington's character would steal the show. He had an excellent story arch, and I liked watching him climb the political ladder through manipulation.
Same. I felt like he whipped out a lot of his training from his early days of performing Shakespeare here in NYC. I think most of the movie's problems stem from the script, the score and too many digital effects.
I would consider Cleopatra (Taylor, Burton) to be a sword and sandal epic. All the ingredients are there...
Ridley Scott's fuck ups
will echo in eternity
Very true but his classics echo a little more intensely thankfully.
@@geekinwithJamesHancock
just pretend the last 10 years didn't happen for him LOL
I was born in 81 my entire life has been full of Ridley Scott fims.
Hell yeah. He's been transporting us to new worlds for a long time. Colossal fan.
I will check it out. It's been ages since I've seen 'Gladiator'. After watching your 'Wicked' review I will definitely make it a double feature
Better bring a pillow to sit on. That's a helluva long time to be chilling at the movie theater. Let me know which of the two wins the day.
James... no. Kingdom of Heaven only has 2 cuts... and only the director's cut matters. Are we film lovers here or not?
I think I got the multiple cuts mixed up with Oliver Stone's Alexander which came out around the same time which did have multiple cuts. In any event, I've never seen the theatrical cut of Kingdom of Heaven but loved the director's cut.
Guess I’ll be checking out this and wicked then!
I'm eagerly awaiting the box office report on Sunday to see how well they've performed. I hope the two movies getting released side by side end up helping with ticket sales instead of cannibalizing them.
Unlike Wicked, James, this is a film I might actually go and see in the theater.
Definitely worth seeing on the largest screen you can find.
Hmmm. Double feature Sunday 🤔
That'll be a massive endurance test. Not sure in which order you should tackle them. Let me know how it goes!
Totally agree that Duelist is his best historical epic. Even on a small budget Ridley creates a beautiful and atmospheric masterpiece.
Some of the shots in that movie rank among the most stunning that I've ever seen and obviously the duels kick serious ass.
I just want to be entertained... and Ridley always entertains me.
Same. I've seen every movie he's ever made and they were all were worth seeing even if I place movies like Alien, The Duellists and Blade Runner on a much higher pedestal.
Looks like old school genres are back on the menu boys! At least this weekend.
Keep it up good sir!
I'm all for all the old school genres making a comeback. We've been force fed the same old shit for way too long.
@@geekinwithJamesHancock Agreed.
The more options there are, the better the movie business will be.
Would love to watch a video on sword and sandal cinema! There aren’t that many around
I would need to roll up my sleeves and do some serious homework. One of my big blind spots is the Spartacus TV show which I know people love and adore.
You're really smart and informative!
You just made my day! I make more mistakes than I care to admit but many thanks all the same!
I read somewhere that Ridley Scott was no better than the script he was given, and I agree with this. I really enjoyed A Good Year by Peter Mayle, and I enjoyed the movie, which had Russell Crowe. Peter Mayle was friends with Ridley Scott, they both lived in Provence in the south of France.
I would love to see the full tally of how much wine was consumed on set during that production.
Ridley is not allowed to kick the bucket until he has finished Alien!
Well at least he made one perfect Alien movie which gets better each time I see it. Strong contender for my favorite science fiction movie.
I gotta be honest, I enjoyed watching this one more than the first one. Something about the fidelity of the production/sound design and the pacing had me on the edge of my seat. The action and acting wasn't bad either. Truly epic directing!
We all keep strong!! And we all keep moving on!! We keep our game tight? Yeah!! We'll be alright!!!
I'm missing the reference. Is that one of Denzel's lines from one of his earlier movies?
Had a second viewing yesterday, this time in an Imax scree i really enjoyed it even more this time, its a true Big Screen movie.
I really hope there is a Gladiator III, i love how Ridley brings that workd to life.
Recommendation: Barrabas with Anthony Quinn, directed by Richard Fleischer. Some gladiator action in it. Full scale recreation of the Colosseum
Very cool! I've only seen a handful of Fleischer's movies like 'The Vikings' and 'Compulsion' and eagerly look forward to checking this one out.
@geekinwithJamesHancock Yeah, produced by Dino De Laurentiis, huge budget, all star cast, came out shortly after Spartacus. Has a real eclipse of the sun caught on film during the crucifixion scene.
We all know his distaste for shooting in Japan with the high cost. Imagine what it would cost for him today. Black Rain is my favorite of his. And thanks to Tony, you Moose for getting me on The Game trilogy. I need to revisit that tonight.
I was blissfully unaware of The Game trilogy until Tony started sharing his amazing art. We are all in his debt.
@@geekinwithJamesHancock as in Michael Douglas the Game?
I’d give the flick a solid B - better than I expected but not quite up there with the first
Totally fair. I'm seeing so many psychotic responses out there that seem totally out of proportion to a movie that I think is pretty much okay but unremarkable.
Scott gets to direct movies of this scale because he is the owner of his own production company: Scott/Free. Which besides being his own production company also hires many directors for TV and film projects... so I guess he has access to a lot of resource$ (similar to Spielberg).
It also helps that every once in a while one of his movies hits the jackpot at the box office. The Martian was his biggest commercial success.
Yeh ! I love it . Great action flick. Hey I will watch if he makes more ❤❤❤. I can’t believe how old Scott is ! He’s still kicking ass 😂😂😂
He's a true living legend and I'm going to enjoy his flicks to the fullest as long as we have him around even if I prefer his earlier work.
The head of Paramount said in a Bloomberg interview the budget was 250 million
I wonder how much they spent on marketing? Not sure what their breakeven point will be but if they receive roughly 50% of theatrical revenue, this thing needs to be a massive hit in order for Paramount to hold its head high.
It was just announced Denzel is doing Equilizer 4 and 5
Some people can never have enough money.
He and Liam Neeson will be making action flicks until the undertakers close the doors shut on their coffins.
Caught this last night
I really was completely entertained
Denzel steals this film and his full Villain turn is crazy towards the end 😊
I’m with you on the opening credits I thought they worked
Harkens back to historical painting
Totally. I've seen the original more times than I can count but I loved the title sequence and how they set the tone for the continuation of the story.
He was awful the guy gets his hand cut off and doesn’t make a sound 🤦🏻♂️ when he shoots Lucious mother in a middle of chaos he peacefully requests the arrow. Just awful acting
Gonna watch tomorrow, Gladiator its my favorite movie, i know its right in my lane, great video man, cheers
Hope you enjoy! Tough to match the epic grandeur of the original but it is still a good time at the movies.
You mentioned the Iliad but I would like to see a faithful adaptation of the Odyssey
Kirk Douglas did a pretty good version back in 1954 but under the Roman name of 'Ulysses'.
Great review as always James, thanks. A small thing but I really wish Pedro Pascal would pass on a role every once in a while (not that I would pass on Gladiator 2 either) as he is becoming so over-exposed/omni-present (just like Margot Robbie) that he is starting to pull me out of the projects that he is in.
His career is definitely at risk over overheating, but I imagine he's saving up so much cash that when the bubble inevitably bursts he'll have the luxury of focusing on character actor roles for the rest of his career.
I really like what the movie has to say about the decay of an empire
This movie was epic
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I might have had my criticisms of the movie but still had a good time at the movies. Some of the negative responses out there seem a little hyperbolic to me.
I’d like to see Peter Graves in a gladiator movie
Agreed, Mr. Huck! He would have made a great Roman senator in the Sixties when actors just leaned into their real accents no matter the genre.
7:20 - That's interesting, because Crowe and Mescal are pretty much the same height, according to IMDb
Interesting. Then must have hired some full blown giants for this new movie. He's dwarfed by a lot of his costars.
Mescal did not disappoint me. But he certainly did not entertain me. I don't know what Russel has, exactly, that Paul does not. But the deficiency for my taste was palpable. I would need to see way more to ever consider myself a fan of Mescals work. He did a nice job.. But he didn't make it Epic.... Like Chris Hemsworth would say.
Agreed. I think Mescal has great acting chops but is not a natural big badass heroic actor. He had a tough act to follow.
I agree with you, it wasn't as good as the original but it had basically no chance at getting there. Still, it was really good and enjoyed it, even the scene with the crazy monkeys lol
As for sword and sandals movies, I recommend The Last Days of Pompeii, Sergio Leone's (technically) first movie. I'm currently watching his short yet illustrious filmography with my wife and we were both impressed at how good his first directorial effort is (though he only directed a part of it but regardless).
Hell yes. Much obliged for the suggestion and it is going on my list. I'm hearing that 'Barabbas' is worth seeing as well.
Denzel steals the show.
I agree. I had heard in advance that he was too over the top but I thought he gave the performance of the bunch.
James is positive and Grace is negative. What a crazy world 😂!!
To quote Bill Murray, "Human sacrifice. Dogs and cats living together. Mass hysteria!”
Sword & Sandal? Can’t forget Ben Hur.
I'm definitely going to give this a watch.
As you are wearing the Hannibal tee, what were your thoughts on that movie? That's another critically divisive one. I happen to really enjoy it, even as much as Silence of the Lambs. They go well together
It's really tough to judge it in that so many of the scenes are scrambled together with my memories from working on it for six months. Usually if I want to watch a Thomas Harris adaptation, I go with Michael Mann's 'Manhunter'.
To answer the question: no, I don’t like movies about gladiators. But I’m on my way to give this one a shot
Lol, sounds good!
Have you ever seen a grown man naked?
Lets think about Ridleys Scotts Movies for a moment. He does have some awesome movies. For my taste I would go, Gladiator, Alien, BladeRunner, Thelma and Louis, Prometheus. I have yet to see the Duelists. After watching Bad Lieutenant and Mean Streets, I think I will love Duelists, just waiting for the 4k Treatment to experience my first time through.
You bring up an incredible point about Verhoven. For my taste he is the better director. Starship Troopers, Basic Instinct, RoboCop, and Total Recall. Hit harder than Scotts work for me personally. But I will give Gladiator the nod as best film out of the bunch, but not by much to RoboCop or Starship. Fun listening to you this evening. Gladiator 2 was not God Awful. In fact, it was in my regard, ok to half decent...
Whoops. I forgot about Black Hawk Down. Ridley Edges out Paul Verhoven. Ridley is a mad man... Heck of a Movie Maker.
I wouldn't wait for 'The Duellists' in 4K. You never know when that will see the light of day or not. I first saw a 35mm print of the flick at the New Beverly in LA and the print probably had more scratches and pops than actual footage but it was still a brilliant movie. Well worth hunting down. And high five to a fellow Verhoeven fan! He's one of my favorite living directors. Total Hall of Famer.
World History according to Ridley Scott… from the mind that gave you Napoleon, Robin Hood, Kingdom of Heaven, House of Gucci comes Gladiator 2: Training Day where “my man!” Originates in Antiquity. 😂
Lol, I was worried about some of the things I'd heard about Denzel's performance in advance but I think his days of performing Shakespeare in NYC served him well. He definitely brought some solid gravitas to a movie that was always veering toward being over the top.
The Roman version of "The force Awakens"😂😂😂
The whole structure definitely feels like a copy and paste of the original.
I'm sure Woody Allen is going to make another film, by the way, have you seen Coup De Chance?
I have not but just rented on Amazon. Thanks for the reminder!
James, is your dad Peter Graves? ✈️
He tries to be but has much less hair.
Anthony Mann's Fall of the Roman Empire is even better than Gladiator, IMO.
High five to a fellow Anthony Mann fan! When it came to film noir, westerns and historical epics, he was one of the best directors of his generation.
@@geekinwithJamesHancock El Cid had some of the best medieval fighting scenes ever.
Good Work Sir !! I am going tomorrow in San Jose ! Report Back
Very cool! "At my signal, unleash Hell."
This movie was aiighttt. Nothing crazy spectacular but entertaining enough. A solid 7 outta 10. It's pretty obvious Ridley has a directors cut version that's at least 30 minutes longer. Lots of cool action set pieces but some more time should have been spent covering the political side of things but I understand why that's the parts they'd cut time from. Good not great
I think that assessment is totally fair. I haven't watched his director's cut yet for 'Napoleon' but I wonder if he has one in his back pocket for this one.
Ironically it was NOT getting into the twins past that contrasted them with Commodus, that wold have made them too much like a repeat of him I'd say.
The critics here on you tube always pick on the same things- it's repeating the same story etc
BUT the new differences work, well I like the symbolism of the Sea battles this time, which could represent their Marina & ship building skills helping to explain how they were able to form an empire.
Spoiler alert" the son turning out to be the son of Maximus twist also worked to justify his fighting skills, plus there seemed to be a...spirtual implication, as though Max spirit lives again through his son, one critisism, they shouldnt have killed off his wife, they were doing enough with the land invasion too much like the original.I thought
I'm gonna skip this. Something about a sword-and-board epic drowning in CGI leaves me cold. If Scott wants a bizarre digital spectacle, I wish he'd gone full Jason & The Argonauts and brought us something properly weird.
Jason and the Argonauts remains my all-time favorite Greek mythology movie. Always a blast to revisit.
@@geekinwithJamesHancock I'll always stan for Harryhausen.
Literally just saw it. Although not as good as original, it still was entertaining.
Were you entertained?
Why yes, yes I was...
My feelings exactly. I totally appreciate the criticisms out there about the copying of story beats, but I think the level of aggression expressed by some toward it has been a little over the top.
This film is to the original Gladiator what The Force Awakens is to Star Wars 1977(never called A New Hope). Copy and paste with more expensive but not better VFX.
I can't argue with it being a replica of the same formula but I thought the digital effects and underwhelming score were even more of a problem. That said, I did enjoy it even if it comes nowhere near cracking Ridley Scott's top 10 for me.
Well, I like gladiator movies, but this was quite a step down from Scott's original, which was problematic as well, but the fact that everyone thought Denzel Washington's trademark histrionics were the best thing about it confirms how second-rate it is. I'll stick with Kubrick and Douglas' SPARTACUS, and even Anthony Mann's THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, over overblown computer generated fantasies like GLADIATOR 2, which did entertain, albeit routinely. If performances are key, I can highly recommend Richard Fleischer's superbly staged BARRABAS, which is a great arena drama; even Delmer Daves piously trashy DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS has its campiness going for it. I tend to like cheap peplum over the expensive kind, but then I'm old school all the way.
High five to a fellow Anthony Mann fan. From film noir to westerns to historical epics, he was one of the giants of his era. Died way too young.
But Ridley has stated this is the best movie he has ever made.
Well that's just silly. I love Ridley but at best this movie ranks around the middle of the pack of his 29 movies and probably a few spots lower.
How can they still be messing up CGI animals?! It can be done really well, plus with the stupid amount of money they had to burn through.....
I'd rather just watch roided out badasses hack each other to pieces. I think they were trying a little too hard to up the ante over the first movie.
Superb❤❤❤
Glad to hear a positive review. The initial backlash was pretty intense but now I'm starting to see a wide range of reactions.
I watched about half of it last night. The first one glorfied Rome. This one vilified it, calling it diseased etc. I dunno. I was trying so hard to like this one.
Got my ticket for this but skipping Wicked. The good thing about getting older is that you realize you don’t have to see everything, and an almost 3-hour part 1 of a musical with two good songs is not for me. My hopes for Gladiator II are slightly raised but honestly I’m mostly watching it to see the battle sequences in a premium cinema.
Without a doubt worth seeing on the largest screen you can find. The action was definitely stronger in the first movie, but Ridley on his worst day is still heads and shoulders better than so many other directors out there.
Demetrius & the gladiators. Victor Mature 1954.
The greatest Roman epic is obviously Ben Hur.
I think Ridley Scott's weak point tends to be his judgement concerning the story/script, and this movie is example of this. Everything else from the cinematography to the acting was good or great, but the script was choppy and nonsensical, especially towards the end. The first Gladiator film, however, did have a really good story and script and that makes all the difference. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate this movie, but I was disappointed when I had time to reflect on it. I felt it was a good for a Hollywood Blockbuster, but not a worthy sequel. If they had fixed the script, it would have been though.
The script definitely needed better dialogue but I think the biggest flaw was the musical score. Hans Zimmer's score to the original really got the blood pumping.
@@geekinwithJamesHancock I agree. The new music wasn't very memorable at all. In terms of the script, the last part where Macrinius becomes de facto emperor was blur to me. Perhaps I need to rewatch it. I didn't buy that story line. It felt extremely rushed.
Denzel Washington in a Roman epic with a New York accent? Sure, if the Roman Empire was located in Queens. This movie should have never been made.
the martian was really good
@@mbrennan27 hell yeah
Still Ridley's biggest commercial success he's ever had.
First
High five!
Shitty film and about as historically accurate as lord of the rings. Its embarrassing.
Sharks really 😂😂
They were totally absurd. I forgot to call them out in my video so I must have blacked them out deliberately, lol.
Movie is way overpraised by reviewers… maybe the bar is just that low
That could be the case. I have a sentimental weakness for Ridley Scott's movies. He's made 29 features and I think this movie ranks around the middle of the pack or maybe a tad lower.
Movie sucked ass. The dream of Rome is actually a liberal democracy, a beacon for the poor and downtrodden - don't mind all the slaves everywhere.
Polanski is 91 and is a better director.
Loved the film but Denzel was horrible.
The film is pure shit. It's a parody. Cgi gentle furnished by Commodore 64.
This movie is trash....And ''The great Denzel Washington'' was complaining in an interview that.....He did a scene where he kissed a man and they cut it out....'' cause we were not ready for it''....TRASH!
Gladiator II was tepid 5.3/10. I thought the CGI looked great, but I just didn't find the circumstance of the CGI to be plausible, hence it attracted my notice.
Djimon Hounsou was the right kind of actor (super fit, super black) to be some sort of believable diversity in Gladiator.
Denzel Washington looks and sounds like an african american of the 20th century, and he is known, and he was an implausible distraction every second he was on the screen.
I like Denzel Washington, but not in this movie, because his appearance and his station and the power broker persona within the Roman empire was a distracting irritant. Stop ruining movies with wokeness.
I wouldn't have minded just a few cgi animals but once we saw monkeys, a rhino and sharks, it all started to feel a little over the top. Two dudes beating the crap out of each other will always be plenty entertaining for me.
Its was a terrible B movie, evry1 phoned it in, what a waste of time, what a disgrace to movie making!!
"A disgrace to movie making" might a tad intense, but it is your dime and you are entitled to express yourself however you like.
1492 had the bestest bestest soundtrack and perhaps of all time by Vangelis. ❤❤❤❤❤
It was good to hear some different things being said about this movie, thanks 👍👍👍
Editted to add ... Glicked here I come on Saturday 💚🩷🥰⚔️🛡
That score to 1492 was drool inducing. 100% agree.
Ridley Scott, thank you for your service. 🫡 Please retire.