Fun fact: I live right next to a forest where parts of the first gladiator film where shot and whilst they were shooting some guy walked into the local pub there and said we need extras who are tall men and we need loads of them. He ended up taking the whole ass pub to the woods to be extras lol
I hadn't seen the first movie until last weekend, thought it was great. Saw the second one yesterday, it was just okay. I think the best way to describe it was Braveheart wearing a Gladiator skin suit.
TIL the word legacy-quel, and i love it. it’s also always entertaining to see your guys’ expressions while listening to your partner say stuff you disagree with while containing your own opinions 😂
As a fan of the first I have serious issues with the retcon the sequel creates. In the midst of everything that happened in the first film Lucilla doesn’t tell Maximus that Lucius is actually his kid!? They have a personal heart to heart scene before Maximus goes off to his death and she doesn’t say “hey, by the way, I know you are sad about your other dead kid and wife but guess what?” I just don’t like the angle that he needs to be related to Maximus in any way. Also I agree, this sequel does a terrible job of explaining what he knows about his “childhood” considering Lucius was damn near a preteen.
THANK YOU this was exactly my problem with it. They also retconned not only Lucius’s father, but his age. In the original, Maximus and Lucilla have a conversation where they specifically talk about how both their sons are almost 8 years old. We know Maximus wouldn’t cheat on his wife with Lucilla because he was totally in love with his wife and he was morally rigid, so there’s no way with that timeline Lucius could’ve been his son. But in the sequel when Denzel Washington is doing his investigations trying to figure out if Paul Mescal is Lucius, he is told that Lucius was 12 when he disappeared, and in the flashback scene, we can see Lucilla sent him away immediately after Maximus died. So with this recon timeline, it means that Lucius was 4-5 years older than Maximus’ son with his Spanish wife which allows for a timeline where Maximus got Lucilla pregnant, then they broke up and then he married the Spanish woman, and this directly contradicts the timeline established in the first movie where both boys are the same age.
@@bebop2523 EXACTLY! It’s all way too messy and convoluted just to try pull some link to Maximus and the first film. Frankly I think it works better if he’s not Maximus’ son but is inspired by his legacy.
@@langleymneely Frfr they should’ve done like an anthology series about a different gladiator and could’ve referenced/been inspired by Maximus but being his son was such a stretch. Or tbh I would’ve loved 2 hrs of Denzel Washington being evil in Ancient Rome they should’ve just made a move about Macrinus, who btw in real life actually did succeed and become emperor manipulating and killing the twins.
The worst part is WE ALREADY HAVE A REASON for Lucius to be inspired by Maximus. To want to follow after him. He gets caught saying "Im Maximus the Savior of Rome!" So it's not like him being his son in any way is necessary to even pull this 2nd movie off. If anything it just kind of complicates things. If anything I feel like it works LESS because we already have that bond with Lucius and Lucilla regarding Maximus, and what he was to rome, and the positive influence he had on Lucius already. Saying he's your father just makes him conflicted, and have all these potentially negative emotions which muddy everything. It's SO poorly handled.
There was one scene in the movie, after main guy found his dead wife's corpse, he just leaves her floating, and goes with roman soldiers without any resistance, and they pat him on the back like "come on, buddy, we enslaving you, there-there".
It was bad enough we got the obnoxiously obvious "pull the heart string" moment AFTER we already got the campy River Styx dream sequence, but then they botch it even more by that terribly tame interaction between him and the roman guards. Like no desperation or anything. Not fight. This is the guy who was supposed to be DEFINED by rage.
Ridley Scott and David Scarpa managed to make Napoleon and Gladiators boring. FUCKING HOW?!!! As a history student it bums me that this awful pairing got to tackle such an interesting subject and it’ll mean there won’t be another Napoleon film for decades. Bring back the screenwriter from The Last Duel, Kingdom of Heaven or the first Gladiator please.
Im halfway in and literally every word coming out of Jake's mouth is what I was feeling. I was physically squirming in my chair unable to look at the screen sometimes because I knew I would hate it less if I didn't look directly at the screen. I swear I physically groaned multiple times. It's such a shame this showing was almost completely packed and the last couple incredible movies I watched in the theatres were barren landscapes. Furiosa :(
Can you two review wild robot? It’s another movie with excellent reviews (even better than this one) that I was confused because I did not find it to be very good. I left thinking “meh, nothing offensively bad here, but that’s like a 60% on rotten tomatoes for sure” and then I left the theatre and looked it up and it had a 98%??!! I was so so confused. Am I missing something genius in this movie? Is everyone just overrating it? Would love to hear your guys’ take!
It's really exciting that there will be a baby. 50% of both your DNA, they can give their opinion on the film if ever you disagree, which will serve as a neutral combination of your consciences.
Great discussion, I was entertained even though I have no plans on watching this. Might check out the first movie based on your recommendations, though!
Ah Ridders, I love you, Alien and Blade Runner top my list, you're the king of light and shadow, but you need to blink twice or something if you're under duress.
Before watching this video, here are my thoughts: *minor spoilers* The good: the twin emperors, gladiatorial naval combat, a really great quote that was attributed to Cicero (though I can't find evidence of it), the pet monkey who got to be co-caesar for a day 🐒 The bad: garbage rehashed script that failed to justify the existence of the movie, dumb callbacks, bad acting even from the returning cast, bad casting (except Pedro and the emperors), unmemorable musical score I rewatched the original last week and I still fucking love that movie. Seeing the new one really made me wish Ridley Scott would have just made another sword & sandal movie without any connection to Gladiator 😕
"bad acting even from the returning cast" What happened to Connie Nielsen in this movie? I'm still moved to tears with some of her performance in the first Gladiator and Ive seen that movie 20 times. I couldn't even look at the screen directly her emotional moments in this were SO BAD.
I dunno how you go in with the fear of it ending up a cash grab and a rehash of the original, and then walk away from Gladiator II thinking it ISN'T any of those things. But alright.
I watched kingdom of heaven last night. I think you've described the cinematography and direction for basically every Scott film since Gladiator. He just seems so lazy and uncaring about the scripts and blocking, direction and pacing. It's almost like he's taking you through the motions to get to plot points and rushed spectacles for almost 3 hours every movie now.
Maximus had two boys with 2 different women within months of each other, accoridng to Gladiator 2 (they were both 8 years old when Maximus was talking abiut them in the first movie)...
I 100% agree that Gladiator 2 feels like a legacy sequel and there are so many contrivances and just silliness. That being said I enjoyed the experience so much, so I can’t fault it too hard. The acting was great but the characters were cardboard copies of the original film. Denzel is the standout, but like you said this doesn’t come to the forefront until the end. Overall I liked it a lot, it made me laugh and smile and I tought it actually looked pretty good for the amount of CGI that was used. First Gladiator is a 10/10, this one gets an 8/10 for me for dumb fun alone.
Agree with nadia, Iactually liked it more than the first but I think i'm in a minority. I only watched the first in preparation for this and didn't really get the hype, good but like 8/10 and i'd give the second one 8.5
since historical accuracy isn't a thing anyway, somewhere out there there was a story of lucius who now stripped of his privilege and needing to survive becomes like denzel's character to claw back his way to power. the contrast to ideals he was raised with and needing to return to the 'good' side. if that kind of character returned back to ideals it would have so much more weight and conflict.
@@happymaskedguy1943 Did you like Joaquin Phoenix though? I thought it was one of his worst performances, I didn't understand his take on Napoleon at all
Hey carrying family (??). Love the videos. I know the Gladiator is considered a classic and here in Italy it's no different. There are certain movies that while they are very loosely based on real history of a country they enjoy a lot of appreciation from the population, like The Last Samurai. For some reason I never got to watch it from start to finish but I did watch some parts of it, so I was never the biggest fan of the first one. I didn't dislike it, I just didn't really see it. Me and my partner thought that this second one was good. I don't think it was great, overall it was predictable in some places, but the cinematography and the directing was really enjoyable. I think the audience at the movie theater also enjoyed it since they gave it a short applause at the end (first time I saw something like that happen). I think it was good enough, maybe not as good as the original but I think it was a success.
It's interesting because Jake's more of a cinephile so I tend to agree with his points however at the same time I tend to appeal also towards the artist intent in a movie. If I felt this was a cash grab I'd see it from that point of view but I genuinely felt that Ridley Scott REALLY wanted to make this. And I feel Nadia tends to sympathize with the script and motivations more that both of you guys together evens out into how I feel most of the time. I find that valuable because often reviews tend to have one pov and it never quite reaches how I actually feel. Another point I want to make is I actually didn't KNOW Paul Pascal's character was supposed to be the son of Maximus. I went in expecting them to just revamping the story set in a totally different space with no connection. Jake seems to talk about the way they told Paul's story as the son but not KNOWING, I could feel in his performance that there is a deeper thing with him. But it's not in the script which I think Jake is more focused on. So I was intrigued still with his characters (but I do see a lot criticisms about his performance but again none of them touch on how I personally feel about it.)
All respect to Nadia, but this was honestly one of the worst things I've watched in the theatres in a LONG time. And this is coming from someone who thinks Gladiator 1 was my favorite theatrical experience ever 24 years ago. I could go on for hours about all of the ways in which this movie failed not only being a sequel, but just being an entertaining blockbuster, but this movies just not worth my time.
Couldn't agree more with the CGI monkeys. I literally went 'wtf is happening' while watching it in the cinema. I don't understand why they need to do this, hundreds of millions of dollars and the CGI looked worse than movies that came out decades ago. It belonged to an entirely different movie.
If you wanna see the bottom of the trough in terms of ridley scott then you should watch Exodus. Not having seen glad2 yet I am confident it is high art compared to Exodus 😂
I agree with the guy. The story was terrible. Spoiler: How do we even know Macrinus was bad or good? He wanted go get rid of current authorities and rule Rome, but to do what with it??? And Lucius is going to do what? He is not competent in ruling. The death od the wife was at battle, it was not personal, taking it personally made Lucius look like a moron.
Ridley Scott still has the creative potency to make good movies, but because of how Hollywood is adapting to the crazy economy today they don't give him time anymore, and condensing so much in such a few days at his age must take a toll on him. I think this is what's been happening.
I think the problem is that he has TOO MUCH control! Similarly to George Lucas, most of his best works were done early in his career, when they both were "reined in", and had to listen to others, and team-work. Now they have too much power and control.
Not it. He has a LOT of control, huge budgets, his own ideas and clearly not doing IP most of the time. He seems to do his own thing a lot, its the fact that he chooses shitty writers thats the problem, i mean who makes historical epics anymore, studios dont like that, but they put up with it cuz its Scott
100% disagree, Ridley Scott has always been a hit and miss director. The original Gladiator really should've been a mess with the script undergoing constant rewrites even during filming. It just so happened that the competing visions for the movie balanced out with Crowe and Pheonix improvising some of the most iconic lines. Ridley is much more in control of movies these days, and they are not better for it.
@@MrJethroha 100%. I think Scott just gets in his own way tbh, and seems to rush through production like there’s no tomorrow. I sort of get it, he’s trying to fit in as many projects while he can, but that just ends up leaving his recent movies feeling undercooked imo.
Yea, I'm big with Jake on this one. Watched Gladiator before II like you guys, so similiar experience. This movie's plot is so damn lazy! Felt no emotion at all while watching it. Some of my biggest gripes (I could write a 20pg essay but I will try to keep it short): 1- It's like they split Maximus' character into Mescal and Pedro. Pascal is the general that falls out with the Emperor, and Mescal is the "husband to a murdered wife". None of the two gets enough motivation and characterization to really get behind them. 2 - The murdered wife at the beggining was so obvious and lazy. The first second I saw her i went "oh so they are going for the murdered family thing again". 3 - Mescal's character is extremely bland and has very little charisma. You understand why the Gladiators get behind Maximus on the first movie; in this one, it feels like it happens just because it has to. 4 - Denzel's plan was so off the charts insane. This dude murders two Emperors easily, with no consequences, has basically no political or military support but one single senator, and expects to rise to power just because the Emperors are disliked by the people? And because he is made consul by one of them, which he publicly murders. Why would anyone side with him after the Emperors are dead? 5- Lucilla sending Lucius away is so contrived. Why would he be in danger? She is basically one of the most powerful people in Rome by the end of the 1st movie. Why would she send the sole heir to a freaking village in Africa? Couldn't you just protect him in Rome? So dumb. 6- The way everyone just believes he is Lucius is fucking insane. Honestly, just felt like they made a much worse version of the first movie. Would have been better to make something more original.
Mescal's speech at the end didn't even really seem like the corny anachronistic liberalism you get in Gladiator I - like, he spends his whole climax talking about 'strength and honour', predicates his authority on being the grandson of a prior emperor, and makes his appeal directly to a pair of militant armies with whom he presumably intends to take over the city. So, like, basically old school Mussolini fascism? Something something John Carter of Mars
Minor correction, more like speech to a military and secret service. The Praetorian are basically body guards. Hate that both films don't have their edgy scorpion banner cause the Praetorian were historically cartoonishly evil.
I have to be honest. I saw the first Gladiator movie last year after finding out about the 2nd movie being in production. I had always seen several scenes from it on cable TV when i was younger but never got around to it. I gotta say, the first movie is overrated af. I was expecting some kind of masterpiece but all i got was a pretty good movie. That's it. I felt sympathy but not empathy for Maximus' loss. The same goes for this movie except this movie missed the mark on some of the motivations for several characters and has a rushed ending. Overall: Gladiator I: 7.5 to 8/10 Gladiator II: 6.5 to 7/10 II is worse than I but not by much. And i found Gladiator 1 a bit underwhelming given the hype and accolades surrounding it.
I really found this movie frustrating, not cuz its unnecessary, but because the writing sucked so much. And sure its an ‘action’ movie but you actually gave a shit in the first film, the story was engaging, the characters, the ideas. None of that here. The same screenwriter from Napoleon and All The Money in the World wrote this film and it shows from minute one when the movie can’t conjure up a fucking inkling of engaging interesting dialogue, his wife is a token default dead wife character, the speech Lucius makes is so dull and confusing it makes no impact, we see none of his prior life or what he cares about or his leader Jugurtha. And thats just the start. The dialogue is so childishly dull and dumbed down that none of the stakes are interesting at all except as visual noise
Ridley Scott is just cooked. He made 2 iconic movies in the span of 3 years early in his career, then made Thelma and Louise and Gladiator later, but other than that he is a director who has churned out a bunch of forgettable movies that have only gotten worse as he has aged
I think they both make good points, but I have to say it is indeed hilarious how this movie just straight up tells us Maximus’s sacrifice was pointless since his son’s life was still in danger anyway, so much so that he was sent away to basically a life of suffering. And OMG those fucking terrible ugly CGI monkeys. Yes, the rest of the movie was compelling, but that scene almost killed any type of interest I had for the movie (which was at that point pretty low because I think the beginning pretty much sucks).
I'm somewhere between you guys, it was fine and entertaining but nowhere near as good as the first. I don't remember the first movie being as vibrant as Jake says though, I always thought that movie was quite muddy and washed out, intentionally so. Maybe thats just the dvd and Blu-ray copies I've been watching all these years
The first Gladiator is very pre-9/11. The second is very much trying to pretend that for 23 years the political landscape hasn’t changed in America. In some ways I respect in, but in so many others I despise it.
I'd genuinely give this a 3/10. I was that disgusted by just about every aspect of this film. It failed in EVERY capacity. And I say that because the only good things were ripped straight from the first one, so I don't even give it credit. Oh yeah Denzel was servicable, but miscast. (or told to perform in a miscast manner)
I'm really not into that first film having watched it for the first time yesterday. Maybe I had to be there for it back then, but it was very played out, cheesy, and the action choppy. Not sure how I'll like the second one.
I tried really hard to like it. It kind of was an affront to my love of ancient rome and my manhood. First movie, chefs kiss, the last movie made for men i can remember. Every movie new is just eye rolley. Same shit. Diversity everywhere, women fighting everywhere, white guy bad everywhere. This one to me is like white guys like rome so rome is bad lol. I want to add that i thought the film looked pretty and that the actors did a good job. The problem as it is with all these modern movies is the really shallow, lazy, day time tv script. I wanted to love this movie so bad but i really think i hate it. 1 more little thing. So i hate: 1.Lucious being maximus son. Made Maximus a dishonorable cheater. 2.Proximo was better 3.Maximus failed in his story 4.butchering of the interesting history of Carracalla and Geta 5.relationships with other gladiators werent developed. 6.its anti rome. In a roman epic i want pro rome. 7.battle babe wife dieing in mutual combat being motivation for revenge, id understand you took my country but your wife put herself on the line and your fault for letting someone you love be on the front line. 8.lucious mom just sat on her ass after maxmus died? 9.roman general is anti rome when rome is all abour conquest? Ughhhhhh
Nadia's review scores are always so entertaining, she's always so different to how I see things haha! I think Jake's summary of the films points, how it was shot and cgi'd out the wazoo with cheesy liberal values chucked in at the end, retconning Gladiator 1's ending... That's kind of what I was expecting from it really, never planned on watching it
It was an insult to the first film and to all those who understand the depth of the first film. It was a boring rip-off of the first with awful DEI for 2024 - only unthoughtful people with no appreciation for story, historical Rome or film-making would enjoy Gladiator 2. Dr Patel leading a Roman army? FFS. Fk off. A Roman army allowing the new emperor - old man Denzel - fight and be killed by a gladiator? No way. Mescal, a gardener pleb at the start, was unkillable and had virtual superpowers by the end. BS.
Nadia: "I think it's pretty neat"
Jake: "This is an affront to the very idea of cinema"
Clicking on this video, I knew she would love it and he would hate it
It's a trope at this point
@ yeah but it’s a trope I like. Therefor tropes good?
She can tell if he likes it or not and alters her opinion to differ from his. Its a good move for their channel.
@@garretharlow575 nah, she just enjoys movies differently
It’s a pattern with the (we argue) videos
"You don't care about the dead wife?"
"Well, not this one. ANYWAYS."
😂😂😂
She took it personally hahahaha
MAKE me feel for the wife, don't tell me I should feel for her.
Fun fact: I live right next to a forest where parts of the first gladiator film where shot and whilst they were shooting some guy walked into the local pub there and said we need extras who are tall men and we need loads of them. He ended up taking the whole ass pub to the woods to be extras lol
Gladiator, I hardly know her
Gladiator? At least take her to dinner first.
Why would I be glad 'e ate 'er? I don't like cannibalism.
You know it's gonna be a spicy one when "we argue" is in the title
After seeing all the positive buzz on twitter, I thought I had gone insane and had seen a different movie. Jake's opinion was such a relief to hear.
It was all fake, throw half of the positive google reviews into an chatGPT detector. They're all fake.
I'm excited to watch this on streaming in 6 months
Me in a few months browsing for movies despite watching this review:
"Oh shit, this came out?"
Best part of these videos is whenever Nadia talks about how she likes a movie you can see a light in Jake’s eyes quietly die.
Although I almost always agree with Man, I think it’s fun to have these discussions to challenge one’s viewpoint
Do you guys go to the movies together, same car? I’m trying to imagine the car rides home, trying to resist the urge to talk about the movie 😂
I see it's been a while since i watched this channel, my congratulation!
Nadia's look 👀 at Jake this entire review: "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?" 😂
"....yo...you don't care about the wife?"😢
I like jake's dramatic hand movements whenever he speaks whereas nadia just calmly sits there
RLM and yall are my favorite movie reviewers. =D
comment for exposure (love you guys)
I hadn't seen the first movie until last weekend, thought it was great. Saw the second one yesterday, it was just okay. I think the best way to describe it was Braveheart wearing a Gladiator skin suit.
TIL the word legacy-quel, and i love it. it’s also always entertaining to see your guys’ expressions while listening to your partner say stuff you disagree with while containing your own opinions 😂
As a fan of the first I have serious issues with the retcon the sequel creates. In the midst of everything that happened in the first film Lucilla doesn’t tell Maximus that Lucius is actually his kid!? They have a personal heart to heart scene before Maximus goes off to his death and she doesn’t say “hey, by the way, I know you are sad about your other dead kid and wife but guess what?” I just don’t like the angle that he needs to be related to Maximus in any way. Also I agree, this sequel does a terrible job of explaining what he knows about his “childhood” considering Lucius was damn near a preteen.
THANK YOU this was exactly my problem with it. They also retconned not only Lucius’s father, but his age. In the original, Maximus and Lucilla have a conversation where they specifically talk about how both their sons are almost 8 years old. We know Maximus wouldn’t cheat on his wife with Lucilla because he was totally in love with his wife and he was morally rigid, so there’s no way with that timeline Lucius could’ve been his son. But in the sequel when Denzel Washington is doing his investigations trying to figure out if Paul Mescal is Lucius, he is told that Lucius was 12 when he disappeared, and in the flashback scene, we can see Lucilla sent him away immediately after Maximus died. So with this recon timeline, it means that Lucius was 4-5 years older than Maximus’ son with his Spanish wife which allows for a timeline where Maximus got Lucilla pregnant, then they broke up and then he married the Spanish woman, and this directly contradicts the timeline established in the first movie where both boys are the same age.
@@bebop2523 EXACTLY! It’s all way too messy and convoluted just to try pull some link to Maximus and the first film. Frankly I think it works better if he’s not Maximus’ son but is inspired by his legacy.
@@langleymneely Frfr they should’ve done like an anthology series about a different gladiator and could’ve referenced/been inspired by Maximus but being his son was such a stretch. Or tbh I would’ve loved 2 hrs of Denzel Washington being evil in Ancient Rome they should’ve just made a move about Macrinus, who btw in real life actually did succeed and become emperor manipulating and killing the twins.
The worst part is WE ALREADY HAVE A REASON for Lucius to be inspired by Maximus. To want to follow after him. He gets caught saying "Im Maximus the Savior of Rome!" So it's not like him being his son in any way is necessary to even pull this 2nd movie off. If anything it just kind of complicates things. If anything I feel like it works LESS because we already have that bond with Lucius and Lucilla regarding Maximus, and what he was to rome, and the positive influence he had on Lucius already. Saying he's your father just makes him conflicted, and have all these potentially negative emotions which muddy everything. It's SO poorly handled.
@ My sentiments exactly!
There was one scene in the movie, after main guy found his dead wife's corpse, he just leaves her floating, and goes with roman soldiers without any resistance, and they pat him on the back like "come on, buddy, we enslaving you, there-there".
It was bad enough we got the obnoxiously obvious "pull the heart string" moment AFTER we already got the campy River Styx dream sequence, but then they botch it even more by that terribly tame interaction between him and the roman guards. Like no desperation or anything. Not fight. This is the guy who was supposed to be DEFINED by rage.
I agree with every single sentiment the right honourable gentlemen shared. And, on that note, I've had my fill of films.
It's TV for me now.
Ridley Scott and David Scarpa managed to make Napoleon and Gladiators boring. FUCKING HOW?!!! As a history student it bums me that this awful pairing got to tackle such an interesting subject and it’ll mean there won’t be another Napoleon film for decades. Bring back the screenwriter from The Last Duel, Kingdom of Heaven or the first Gladiator please.
The Last Duel was so engaging, with actual stakes. It wasn't perfect, but it's light years beyond w/e he's doing with Napolean and this movie.
I personally loved the movie. 8/10
Im halfway in and literally every word coming out of Jake's mouth is what I was feeling. I was physically squirming in my chair unable to look at the screen sometimes because I knew I would hate it less if I didn't look directly at the screen. I swear I physically groaned multiple times. It's such a shame this showing was almost completely packed and the last couple incredible movies I watched in the theatres were barren landscapes. Furiosa :(
Saw it with my friend and he said exactly what Jake said pretty much.
I thought the costumes were pretty neat though.
Denzel Washington’s back must be hurting for carrying this entire film.
The ONLY good thing in the entire movie. And I actually mean that.
I thought... it was really, really bad.
Can you two review wild robot? It’s another movie with excellent reviews (even better than this one) that I was confused because I did not find it to be very good. I left thinking “meh, nothing offensively bad here, but that’s like a 60% on rotten tomatoes for sure” and then I left the theatre and looked it up and it had a 98%??!! I was so so confused. Am I missing something genius in this movie? Is everyone just overrating it? Would love to hear your guys’ take!
It's really exciting that there will be a baby. 50% of both your DNA, they can give their opinion on the film if ever you disagree, which will serve as a neutral combination of your consciences.
Great discussion, I was entertained even though I have no plans on watching this. Might check out the first movie based on your recommendations, though!
Ah Ridders, I love you, Alien and Blade Runner top my list, you're the king of light and shadow, but you need to blink twice or something if you're under duress.
His poker face says it all. I loved the first one, too.
The downfall of the roman empire must be studied
I think about that every day
Before watching this video, here are my thoughts:
*minor spoilers*
The good:
the twin emperors, gladiatorial naval combat, a really great quote that was attributed to Cicero (though I can't find evidence of it), the pet monkey who got to be co-caesar for a day 🐒
The bad:
garbage rehashed script that failed to justify the existence of the movie, dumb callbacks, bad acting even from the returning cast, bad casting (except Pedro and the emperors), unmemorable musical score
I rewatched the original last week and I still fucking love that movie. Seeing the new one really made me wish Ridley Scott would have just made another sword & sandal movie without any connection to Gladiator 😕
"bad acting even from the returning cast"
What happened to Connie Nielsen in this movie? I'm still moved to tears with some of her performance in the first Gladiator and Ive seen that movie 20 times. I couldn't even look at the screen directly her emotional moments in this were SO BAD.
The biggest issue with this film is our main character is an empty vessel.
Don't even really need to see it to know how this vid plays out, but I will watch so Man isn't Carrying that Thing alone.
I dunno how you go in with the fear of it ending up a cash grab and a rehash of the original, and then walk away from Gladiator II thinking it ISN'T any of those things. But alright.
I love this discussion
Lemme guess: Nadia liked it; Jake, not so much.
I watched kingdom of heaven last night. I think you've described the cinematography and direction for basically every Scott film since Gladiator. He just seems so lazy and uncaring about the scripts and blocking, direction and pacing. It's almost like he's taking you through the motions to get to plot points and rushed spectacles for almost 3 hours every movie now.
Yup, I never felt like we had purpose when we were being led from scene to scene. Just this meandering pacing.
They shoulda done their original plan and made a movie about an eternally reincarnating Russell Crowe
Maximus had two boys with 2 different women within months of each other, accoridng to Gladiator 2 (they were both 8 years old when Maximus was talking abiut them in the first movie)...
The haters are just mad cuz they are probably ink wells
@@niket527 is this Ridley’s alt? Lol
I 100% agree that Gladiator 2 feels like a legacy sequel and there are so many contrivances and just silliness. That being said I enjoyed the experience so much, so I can’t fault it too hard. The acting was great but the characters were cardboard copies of the original film. Denzel is the standout, but like you said this doesn’t come to the forefront until the end. Overall I liked it a lot, it made me laugh and smile and I tought it actually looked pretty good for the amount of CGI that was used. First Gladiator is a 10/10, this one gets an 8/10 for me for dumb fun alone.
Agree with nadia, Iactually liked it more than the first but I think i'm in a minority. I only watched the first in preparation for this and didn't really get the hype, good but like 8/10 and i'd give the second one 8.5
more like badiator poo amirite
Watch "I'm Still Here", one of the best movies release this year.
since historical accuracy isn't a thing anyway, somewhere out there there was a story of lucius who now stripped of his privilege and needing to survive becomes like denzel's character to claw back his way to power. the contrast to ideals he was raised with and needing to return to the 'good' side. if that kind of character returned back to ideals it would have so much more weight and conflict.
I still haven't recovered from just how boring Napoleon was
I enjoyed it. Flawed, certainly. But good.
@@happymaskedguy1943 Did you like Joaquin Phoenix though? I thought it was one of his worst performances, I didn't understand his take on Napoleon at all
Hey carrying family (??). Love the videos.
I know the Gladiator is considered a classic and here in Italy it's no different. There are certain movies that while they are very loosely based on real history of a country they enjoy a lot of appreciation from the population, like The Last Samurai.
For some reason I never got to watch it from start to finish but I did watch some parts of it, so I was never the biggest fan of the first one. I didn't dislike it, I just didn't really see it.
Me and my partner thought that this second one was good. I don't think it was great, overall it was predictable in some places, but the cinematography and the directing was really enjoyable. I think the audience at the movie theater also enjoyed it since they gave it a short applause at the end (first time I saw something like that happen).
I think it was good enough, maybe not as good as the original but I think it was a success.
11:10 These were baboons, only some had lost their hair. The filmmakers were trying to show the poor conditions in which the animals were kept.
I thought it was alegator 2
It's interesting because Jake's more of a cinephile so I tend to agree with his points however at the same time I tend to appeal also towards the artist intent in a movie. If I felt this was a cash grab I'd see it from that point of view but I genuinely felt that Ridley Scott REALLY wanted to make this. And I feel Nadia tends to sympathize with the script and motivations more that both of you guys together evens out into how I feel most of the time. I find that valuable because often reviews tend to have one pov and it never quite reaches how I actually feel.
Another point I want to make is I actually didn't KNOW Paul Pascal's character was supposed to be the son of Maximus. I went in expecting them to just revamping the story set in a totally different space with no connection. Jake seems to talk about the way they told Paul's story as the son but not KNOWING, I could feel in his performance that there is a deeper thing with him. But it's not in the script which I think Jake is more focused on. So I was intrigued still with his characters (but I do see a lot criticisms about his performance but again none of them touch on how I personally feel about it.)
Nadia looks so depressed at his take 😢 give her a hug
All respect to Nadia, but this was honestly one of the worst things I've watched in the theatres in a LONG time. And this is coming from someone who thinks Gladiator 1 was my favorite theatrical experience ever 24 years ago. I could go on for hours about all of the ways in which this movie failed not only being a sequel, but just being an entertaining blockbuster, but this movies just not worth my time.
Couldn't agree more with the CGI monkeys. I literally went 'wtf is happening' while watching it in the cinema. I don't understand why they need to do this, hundreds of millions of dollars and the CGI looked worse than movies that came out decades ago. It belonged to an entirely different movie.
I was entertained. The first one is still better, but I enjoyed the 2nd.
If you wanna see the bottom of the trough in terms of ridley scott then you should watch Exodus. Not having seen glad2 yet I am confident it is high art compared to Exodus 😂
Gotta agree with Jake here
I agree with the guy. The story was terrible. Spoiler:
How do we even know Macrinus was bad or good? He wanted go get rid of current authorities and rule Rome, but to do what with it??? And Lucius is going to do what? He is not competent in ruling.
The death od the wife was at battle, it was not personal, taking it personally made Lucius look like a moron.
It makes sense for him to take it personally. Rome messed up his life and the one happiness he found was then lost as well
Funny to hear Jake’s criticism and then the guys who are like “DEI Wokeness etc”
Ridley Scott still has the creative potency to make good movies, but because of how Hollywood is adapting to the crazy economy today they don't give him time anymore, and condensing so much in such a few days at his age must take a toll on him. I think this is what's been happening.
I think the problem is that he has TOO MUCH control!
Similarly to George Lucas, most of his best works were done early in his career, when they both were "reined in", and had to listen to others, and team-work. Now they have too much power and control.
Not it. He has a LOT of control, huge budgets, his own ideas and clearly not doing IP most of the time. He seems to do his own thing a lot, its the fact that he chooses shitty writers thats the problem, i mean who makes historical epics anymore, studios dont like that, but they put up with it cuz its Scott
100% disagree, Ridley Scott has always been a hit and miss director. The original Gladiator really should've been a mess with the script undergoing constant rewrites even during filming. It just so happened that the competing visions for the movie balanced out with Crowe and Pheonix improvising some of the most iconic lines. Ridley is much more in control of movies these days, and they are not better for it.
Why did he do a movie without a script tho?
@@MrJethroha 100%. I think Scott just gets in his own way tbh, and seems to rush through production like there’s no tomorrow.
I sort of get it, he’s trying to fit in as many projects while he can, but that just ends up leaving his recent movies feeling undercooked imo.
Yea, I'm big with Jake on this one. Watched Gladiator before II like you guys, so similiar experience. This movie's plot is so damn lazy! Felt no emotion at all while watching it. Some of my biggest gripes (I could write a 20pg essay but I will try to keep it short):
1- It's like they split Maximus' character into Mescal and Pedro. Pascal is the general that falls out with the Emperor, and Mescal is the "husband to a murdered wife". None of the two gets enough motivation and characterization to really get behind them.
2 - The murdered wife at the beggining was so obvious and lazy. The first second I saw her i went "oh so they are going for the murdered family thing again".
3 - Mescal's character is extremely bland and has very little charisma. You understand why the Gladiators get behind Maximus on the first movie; in this one, it feels like it happens just because it has to.
4 - Denzel's plan was so off the charts insane. This dude murders two Emperors easily, with no consequences, has basically no political or military support but one single senator, and expects to rise to power just because the Emperors are disliked by the people? And because he is made consul by one of them, which he publicly murders. Why would anyone side with him after the Emperors are dead?
5- Lucilla sending Lucius away is so contrived. Why would he be in danger? She is basically one of the most powerful people in Rome by the end of the 1st movie. Why would she send the sole heir to a freaking village in Africa? Couldn't you just protect him in Rome? So dumb.
6- The way everyone just believes he is Lucius is fucking insane.
Honestly, just felt like they made a much worse version of the first movie. Would have been better to make something more original.
"...just felt like they made a much worse version of the first movie..." The main problem with every bad sequel.
Mescal's speech at the end didn't even really seem like the corny anachronistic liberalism you get in Gladiator I - like, he spends his whole climax talking about 'strength and honour', predicates his authority on being the grandson of a prior emperor, and makes his appeal directly to a pair of militant armies with whom he presumably intends to take over the city. So, like, basically old school Mussolini fascism?
Something something John Carter of Mars
Minor correction, more like speech to a military and secret service. The Praetorian are basically body guards. Hate that both films don't have their edgy scorpion banner cause the Praetorian were historically cartoonishly evil.
I have to be honest. I saw the first Gladiator movie last year after finding out about the 2nd movie being in production. I had always seen several scenes from it on cable TV when i was younger but never got around to it.
I gotta say, the first movie is overrated af. I was expecting some kind of masterpiece but all i got was a pretty good movie. That's it. I felt sympathy but not empathy for Maximus' loss. The same goes for this movie except this movie missed the mark on some of the motivations for several characters and has a rushed ending.
Overall:
Gladiator I: 7.5 to 8/10
Gladiator II: 6.5 to 7/10
II is worse than I but not by much. And i found Gladiator 1 a bit underwhelming given the hype and accolades surrounding it.
I really found this movie frustrating, not cuz its unnecessary, but because the writing sucked so much. And sure its an ‘action’ movie but you actually gave a shit in the first film, the story was engaging, the characters, the ideas. None of that here. The same screenwriter from Napoleon and All The Money in the World wrote this film and it shows from minute one when the movie can’t conjure up a fucking inkling of engaging interesting dialogue, his wife is a token default dead wife character, the speech Lucius makes is so dull and confusing it makes no impact, we see none of his prior life or what he cares about or his leader Jugurtha. And thats just the start. The dialogue is so childishly dull and dumbed down that none of the stakes are interesting at all except as visual noise
you guys replaced Chris Struckmann for me, it’s Jeremy and then you guys. Thank you!!
Also, baby coming soon💚💚💚
Ridley Scott is just cooked. He made 2 iconic movies in the span of 3 years early in his career, then made Thelma and Louise and Gladiator later, but other than that he is a director who has churned out a bunch of forgettable movies that have only gotten worse as he has aged
I think they both make good points, but I have to say it is indeed hilarious how this movie just straight up tells us Maximus’s sacrifice was pointless since his son’s life was still in danger anyway, so much so that he was sent away to basically a life of suffering.
And OMG those fucking terrible ugly CGI monkeys. Yes, the rest of the movie was compelling, but that scene almost killed any type of interest I had for the movie (which was at that point pretty low because I think the beginning pretty much sucks).
These were baboons, only some had lost their hair. The filmmakers were trying to show the poor conditions in which the animals were kept.
i have only seen 3 videos from this channel but does nadiya love every movie?
The movie was what what it wanted to be it just did not want to be a good movie
I agree with Nadia.
I'm somewhere between you guys, it was fine and entertaining but nowhere near as good as the first. I don't remember the first movie being as vibrant as Jake says though, I always thought that movie was quite muddy and washed out, intentionally so. Maybe thats just the dvd and Blu-ray copies I've been watching all these years
Human carrying Woman? Woman carrying Human?
The first Gladiator is very pre-9/11. The second is very much trying to pretend that for 23 years the political landscape hasn’t changed in America. In some ways I respect in, but in so many others I despise it.
I was waiting for Jake to go off on this one. It was a disjointed mess
There was nothing tasteful about this sequel. It made zero sense and had so many leaps of logic to retell the original while also being a sequel.
Man’s favourite author is Solzhenitsyn. Also, cute couple.
4:33 🤦♂️
9/10? hahahahhahaahahahahahahha
I'd genuinely give this a 3/10. I was that disgusted by just about every aspect of this film. It failed in EVERY capacity. And I say that because the only good things were ripped straight from the first one, so I don't even give it credit. Oh yeah Denzel was servicable, but miscast. (or told to perform in a miscast manner)
Love the videos but let her speak 😭
watch gladiator II before (re)watching gladiator
18:30 😂😂
I'm really not into that first film having watched it for the first time yesterday. Maybe I had to be there for it back then, but it was very played out, cheesy, and the action choppy. Not sure how I'll like the second one.
I tried really hard to like it. It kind of was an affront to my love of ancient rome and my manhood. First movie, chefs kiss, the last movie made for men i can remember. Every movie new is just eye rolley. Same shit. Diversity everywhere, women fighting everywhere, white guy bad everywhere. This one to me is like white guys like rome so rome is bad lol.
I want to add that i thought the film looked pretty and that the actors did a good job. The problem as it is with all these modern movies is the really shallow, lazy, day time tv script. I wanted to love this movie so bad but i really think i hate it.
1 more little thing. So i hate:
1.Lucious being maximus son. Made Maximus a dishonorable cheater.
2.Proximo was better
3.Maximus failed in his story
4.butchering of the interesting history of Carracalla and Geta
5.relationships with other gladiators werent developed.
6.its anti rome. In a roman epic i want pro rome.
7.battle babe wife dieing in mutual combat being motivation for revenge, id understand you took my country but your wife put herself on the line and your fault for letting someone you love be on the front line.
8.lucious mom just sat on her ass after maxmus died?
9.roman general is anti rome when rome is all abour conquest?
Ughhhhhh
Nadia's review scores are always so entertaining, she's always so different to how I see things haha! I think Jake's summary of the films points, how it was shot and cgi'd out the wazoo with cheesy liberal values chucked in at the end, retconning Gladiator 1's ending... That's kind of what I was expecting from it really, never planned on watching it
ha ha ha ha ha
It sucked
It was an insult to the first film and to all those who understand the depth of the first film. It was a boring rip-off of the first with awful DEI for 2024 - only unthoughtful people with no appreciation for story, historical Rome or film-making would enjoy Gladiator 2. Dr Patel leading a Roman army? FFS. Fk off. A Roman army allowing the new emperor - old man Denzel - fight and be killed by a gladiator? No way. Mescal, a gardener pleb at the start, was unkillable and had virtual superpowers by the end. BS.
Well its nice to know the channel is finally getting that racist audience... lmao
@@thomasmuandersontheneousul4184that guy wishes he had a wife like Lucius. He's just mad that women don't like him
She likes this hideous movie? 😂😂😂 I'm out of here. It's nonsense