What likely confused them is that what they visit today in Italy is not how the thing was when it was first built. In its latest form, it was really impossible to flood. And they got that engineering part correct lol The problem is that it was not always like that. It used to have much less stuff underground and it was possible to flood the arena. As curiosity, by the time in which the movies supposedly happen, it was no longer possible to flood lol
@@Banished-rx4ol I wouldn't call this a fact though. Nobody is still alive to confirm this. I have my doubts this theory that people treat as fact actually happened.
Anyone who appreciated the meaning behind the line “are you not entertained!” From the first film, will recognize the irony in bloodlust being the only reason this sequel is “entertaining” for anyone.
I was entertained by Gladiator 2, for me the final duel and speech of that movie justified everything. Nice too know Maximus’s unknowingly had a 2nd son who indeed did grow up, turn into a good fighter & (heavily implied) too became emperor of Rome. Gladiator 10/10. Gladiator two 7/10. The sequel is driven by overly realistic premise to make it happen but the payoff is worth it. I appreciate it for what it represents for the grand scheme of Maximus legacy knowing his bloodline didn’t die with him and his son became the good version of Commodes. Someone who had an automatic birthright or at least a vary strong claim to the throne but also had the right moral compass to be trusted with it as well.
I find this to be tantalizingly accurate...When I was in the theater: I saw this movie in XD from a Cinemark Theater...I wondered why I was so enraptured with the visuals and how bombastic it was...but when I stopped for a MOMENT to compare it to the original, I realized that it wasnt for the same reasons...
Naumachia. Only used as a convenient way to get rid of excess slaves though. Same as the venationes(beast hunts). Formal gladiators belonging to a specific class were far too expensive to pit against each other en masse. Gotta make those last.
It was trash. But it was a delightfully funny bad watch for me. I truly was riveted at every wrong decision made here and there. And the final act does not make up for it. It is actually rushed, has no build up from the butchered nature of the edit, and feels unearned thanks to how bland and a charisma vacuum Paul Blanscal is.
They have to say stuff like that or they will be bombarded by general audience brainlets. People can't handle criticism without it being as sugar-coated as possible.
Why all the tip toeing? Give your opinion and stand by it. I know you're not allowed to like what others don't like and dislike what others do, but f those people.
They aren't tip toeing imo. It's complicated. The movies fun and entertaining, but has no substance. That's why they come off of two minds: the fan and the critic.
@@sohailanjum7 i think it needed some additional editing The first movie told its plot in between its battles, but this sequel once the battles were done still had like 40 minutes of plot to cover, this movie thought it had to reach the gladiator battle right away, but the original movie took its time before its first arena fight
@@xBonafidexProdigy Disappointing compared to the original. Had good production values, decent acting. I rarely give 5s and 4s unless its bad. Was still above average for me.
"I was bored, bad script, the plot was bad, the actors rang hollow, their speeches really held everything back, i'm not motivated, no heart." But it's not a bad movie guys! 5 out of 10, not bad! Come on now guys, let's not slop up garbage just because Hollywood can't give us much.
@@DRod1517 There are far worse things than boredom. At least he didn't hate it with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. 😂 But I think they were rating it as a brainless popcorn film not as the same level as a best picture contender.
I think that comes from comparing Gladiator 1 to this movie. They said if you watched this as a stand alone it would be an entertaining watch. I agree with the sentiment. I was entertained by the action for the most part, but as “Gladiator 2”… it rang hollow for sure.
Why is there still no movie set in the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage? You know, the wars that made Rome conquer land outside of Italy for the first time and where they came close to be erased from history 3 times? With all madness that happened in them like insane sea battles and land battles with elephants, storms that wiped out entire armies, and all these different well documented characters from Aemilianus (who returned to Carthage as a POW when being sent back Rome by the Carthaginians to ask them to make peace but instead told them to fight to the bitter end) to Hannibal Barcas and the legendary Scipio Africanus you could easily make a LotR quality trilogy and you dont even need a screenplay for that. Interstingly, there is one short segment in the newest Indiana Jones movie which is the only movie to show a part of the Punic wars, the Siege of Syracuse by the Romans, with the famous inventor Archimedes taking part in it. It was the most interesting part of that movie.
It's so strange that a random guy on the internet can come up with story ideas for films that are much more interesting and awesome than anything Hollywood does. Hollywood has the historical knowledge of a toddler lol.
Hollywood hates making historical movies, any movies they make are always repeats of other eras already done, so many interesting stories are glossed over.
@@donovan5656Perhaps, but overall there are more people interested in learning history as well and also historical films are becoming more popular, so I’m sure they can try at least, especially since they’re making Hannibal movie, as well as Cleopatra, and Joan of Arc. We’ll see if they end up being good however.
@@broodwarjc1517 it's clearly meant to be a hypnotic take on alternate history though; everything is loosely based with a multitude of creative liberties taken
Wait, now you know. Hollywood's original script is always bad. Even for well known Producers and writers. The majority of good Hollywood movies come from a book, novels, or adaptation of other genres like animation.
Be honest guys. Tell us what you think. I don’t mind if you don’t like it. If it’s bad it’s bad. Enough with the turn your brain of you’ll like it. Most people watching you have brains that they like to use.
Ugh, films have fallen SOO far that he sees this as good. If he watched the first movie right before this, and then watched this, he would NOT even consider this a 3/10. The first movie is a 10/10. Also Denzel is being himself, he didn't even do an accent, like dude you are acting in a PERIOD movie, can't do an accent?
@@dahalofreeek in a period movie they could at least treat 1 accent as the region to make it consistent. Then again, Gladiator was also never made to be historically accurate. These movies are not like Rome tv series that has more historical accuracy
@@dahalofreeek You know which accent DEFINITELY did not exist back then? An American one. We're not asking every character to speak Latin, just avoid things that everyone know didn't exist and would otherwise break the immersion.
This movie is about as realistic and accurate as 300. Man eating baboons on steroids! A rhino being ridden on and being used to fight! Sharks in the colosseum! At least the first one was grounded in realism in terms of gladiatorial combat.
@@randomanton So you think something is wrong with my thinking in that I didn't expect 300 to be historically accurate? Perhaps it had something to do with the giant dude with blades for arms, or the eight foot tall Xerxes. I'm not the one who seems like they bumped their head.
@@Gamebent1If people haven’t read the graphic novel, or knew it existed, I can see how someone would think it might be somewhat historically accurate going in? Honestly it follows history fairly decently apart from the obvious Hollywood inserted stuff. Persian and Xerxes appearances/ Ephialtes hunchback/ monsters/etc. Expecting realism though? On drugs.
Pedro Pascal wasn't in the movie as much as it was advertised, I dont know if he was a later addition, budget constraints, etc but I think the movie would had a tighter plot if he wasnt there at all, there are chunks of the movie where he is forgotten at all
Yes he was late addition and there are reports going around that Pedro Pascal was only hired to fulfill the mandatory DEI checks because Pedro is considered South American and non-white.
Terrible movie. The main character had no charisma and screen presence. Why did he roll dirt in his hand in the arena!? Why would he do something a farmer would do and happened to do what his father he never knew did!? Him being the son of a man who obviously cheated, that same man whose entire story was revenge for his family he loved was anger inducing. Pedro pascal should have been the main character! The two armies at the end cheering him … why !? Awful CGI He has zero bond with his fellow gladiators and they follow him for no reason. The jailbreak made zero sense. It needed NO link to the first film at all. Ridley Scott AGAIN with memberries. Stop making films Ridley!!!
There are thousands of years of Roman culture and yet Hollywood is trying to convince us that this tired in-name-only sequel is the only part worth telling. The US film industry is collapsing and we're watching it in real time.
Guys, please stop with the 'you're going to be mad'. We just want YOUR opinions and thoughts. For me, this movie was a miss and had me rolling my eyes with all the unnecessary CGI, overly pathetic script and plot that didn't make sense to me. And Denzel, oh my, please stop playing the Training day cop - it feels so inappropriate here. That scene with slitting the emperor's throat had me burst out laughing. Gladiator 2 has no soul, unfortunately.
@@kh7688 hahaha thats pretty bad when you think about it. Love jaws but yeah that shark looks bad when revisting. So for these sharks to look worst is hilariously bad.
I gave it a 4 on your scale. Sharks in the coliseum, bad CGI monkeys, story, dialogues, “twist”, editing - I was face palming throughout. Pedro Pascal and Denzel - hot as usual
They put pedro pascal in a lot of movies but i dont think he fits in a lot of them. In my opinion he doesnt fit the role in this movie. And denzel. Same. Great actor but he doesnt fit this role.
Good review, but I really enjoyed Alex in this one. He did his usual critiques, but then still argued for having a higher score than OJ and AJ gave it and still recommended going to see it.
Ridley's films suffer from him rushing his projects, best example is Prometheus, it had EVERYTHING to be it's own thing yet as great as Alien, and he half ass'd EVERY segment.
Joe getting so defensive over other Joe and Alex's opinion of this movie. They're supposed to be movie critics. It should be ok if someone doesnt feel the same way about a movie as you.
The guy who played Lucius in the first gladiator is still alive and an actor. I'm sure he could have reprised his role and did a better job than the the random guy they got for this.
@@AdrianUzumakii fair dos man, tbh I have no inclination to watch this one. The first one is probably in my top ten films ever, so the incentive to watch the new one isn't there. Not that it could ever sully the first, I can separate them, as I have done with other sequels to films (looking at you Star Wars). But I understand more now what you mean 🤝🏻
Been waiting for this review. I saw it and while the original is a 12/10 for me (fav movie of all time), the sequel is a 7/10 imo. Good movie, but nothing close to the first. I did like Denzel's character he was the best part.
@@dustindubbo2892 The original is my favorite movie of all time, but I, unlike so many have and will, did not go to it to compare it to the first. If you do that, it will lose every time. But as it's own thing, I think it's perfectly fine. I was satisfied, overall.
Joe spends all day at the movies and then talking about the movie then takes the weekend off and wonders why he gets no game reviews done… I’m sure we will hear in the next news clip how he just needs more time guys and he’s very sorry he hasn’t gotten around to anything. I wish he would just come out and say he doesn’t want to do the work any more and just wants to watch TV and talk to his friends instead of making excuses all the time.
@13:40 They did stage naval fights in the Colosseum.. Those events were called The Naumachia... They would divert water from the aqueduct to fill the arena space which took about 4 hours to fill.. Emperor Titus was the first one to hold a Naumachia in the new Colosseum, reenacting the battle between Athens and Syracuse, the ships were modified with flat bottoms to accommodate for the shallow water in the arena...
The fact they didn't get hanz zimmer back for the music for me was the biggest turn off and the music from hgw was crap but i guess hanz did not want to return because he new the story was weak ad did not have the emotional heart of the original
Is it just me or does Joe get salty everytime Alex disagrees with him and tells the truth? I always go with what Alex says because he seems unbiased in his reviews
because aj is the average joe representation (sometimes he's ace joe, sometimes he's abysmal joe) while alex is the apex critic representation. oj is the lulzy but sometimes also serious wildcard otherworldly joe
I agree with the rating but Denzel was predictably un-incredible. Absolutely zero range, couldn't even muster together a different accent. I've seen him play this character in probably seven other of his movies. How is that incredible?
It pains me deeply to say this but, this movie was trash! They stole all the story beats from the first movie, the dialogue was garbage, Pedro character was the worst performance I have ever seen. . They tried to make a movie on remember berries. Denzel was playing Denzel the entire time. Why did he kill the mother? What was the reason. Commodus in the first one had depth and nuance, these brother emperors were cartoon bad guys. Ridley Scott is done... His last 4 movies have been 5 out of 10's, at that being kind.
AJ you should implement skits into these movie reviews the same way you do for Angry Game Reviews, no need for costumes just green screen, you did it in your old Godzilla 2014 movie review and some other ones, I think these would blow up way more if you added some of that
@@randomanton bro thinks the only CGI in a movie are for living creatures. Wait till you see how much CGI is used in your favorite films. Like in just the environments alone, or to enhance a live set. Was your immersion ruined when you saw LOTR too?
Ridley's actor's direction really shows when he's on auto-mode. He let's people do their thing, that's why you get Denzel doing Denzel instead of the character he's playing.
Which is baffling considering these movies cost 250-300 million dollars and are supposed to have a degree of professional polish and authenticity. Yet fanboys always make the excuse "just turn your brain off and enjoy".
@@karannegi7199 In a way it makes sense, any filmmaker will tell you, making big movies makes you lazy, cause there's 2 people for EVERYTHING you need. That's why they cost as much as they do. Especially Pedro and Denzel. Making small movies is where it's at, a good crew with their heart in it and using their brain can make a small movie look like the big one, and a bad crew makes a big movie look "small". You got fan boys, and you got the general audiences, they don't know what they're watching, I can't blame them really. What's the general IQ world wide? 80-ish realistically?
@@alltheflavors9673 Getting 350 mil. out of a 100+ invested ain't really a success. The script was piss-poor, the stuffing of a dead man in the roll of the android was not only done poorly but in poor taste, the characters make more of the same dumb decisions(well the script writer does) the director of it is know for polishing other people's shit, as he did this time. It's a homage to Ridley, but... It's an excuse to rehash the same shit we've seen already in better Alien movies. It's paced TERRIBLY especially the 3rd act. The xeno's make moronic and nonsensical decisions(the script, again) the speed of it's growth is getting more ridiculous as movies go on for NO fkn reason, again, the music is stocky AF, the main character is what, a fkn child? The Intro's rushed with no actual reason. What's left is Ok. It's almost on a Pray(Predator) level of "quality", meaning a hair strand better, but not much more.
Agree. It’s like he doesn’t even realise what made that movie tick. The guy has to overcome so many things. Heart wrenching. In gladiator 2 the hero is fully developed from the get go without any resistance. Unbelievably bland. Absolutely ridiculous.
I can actually explain about the naval battle reenactments, which were a real thing. They were NOT in the coliseum. Like Joe says, there wasn't room, and the bottoms were hollow, and there was wood flooring which would warp. It was also very difficult to pump water into there. HOWEVER, they WERE able to do that at the Circus Maximus. It was large enough, and it was placed near the river... specifically so they could do this. There was a whole system to pour water into the Circus Maximus area, and they could bring boats in at the same time. Then they would have these battle reenactments. You can see the old grounds still in Italy, but they don't look so dramatic. The marble was was stripped to build Christian monuments. In fact, the same was done to the coliseum; the difference is that the coliseum was also built of stone, which is why so much of it still exists. But the Circus Maximus was nearly all marble and other things that were used in these other structures.
Been looking forward to seeing the boys reunite in time to review Gladiator 2. The sequel obviously is not as great as the original classic starring Russell Crowe but Gladiator 2 is still a thrilling & fun epic adventure film with cool fight & battle scenes, a solid sequel to an all-time masterpiece. I just wish they hadn't recast Lucius. FUN FACT: Lucius being revealed as Maximus & Lucilla's son was made canon long before Gladiator 2 was even in development, in the pages of the official Gladiator movie novelization book that was released in bookstores when Gladiator 1 originally released in theaters. 11:07 = Whoa stop right there Alex, leave The Last Duel alone. That was a fantastic movie. You guys gave The Last Duel a solid review. Yes it didn't do well in theaters but that doesn't mean it was a bad movie which it wasn't. 13:18 = Actually yes Joe. The Romans in real-life did in fact occasionally fill The Colossieum with water to pit gladiators against each other in mock naval battles.
I was very much entertained in the cinema. It was fun. Would I have that much fun if I watched it on TV? Eh, maybe? Would I watch it again? Probably not.
I actually loved this movie. My only gripe is that they link it with the first one too much. Were the main character not related to Maximus but instead more of a spiritual successor to Maximus the movie would be infinitely better.
Don't worry it's reviewers that have ruined the concept of fair ratings and just 10/10 everything that is average. So this makes normal people think a 7 is a fair rating for the same average content. A 7 is way too much. That's a bloody good movie you'd watch multiple times. A 10 is something you will talk about for your entire life, breaks cross demographics and defines a genre. Pulp Fiction, Elvis Presley, The Beatles you know absolute class is not the norm but you'd think it is with modern writers posting reviews they are paid to by the company promoting their movies.
Also, mad love for Joe's statement that history will not be kind to this film. It was the same with Tron 2: the soundtrack was phenomenal and the visuals were tops. The story, however ...
can someone explain why is there a black person in position of huge power in Ancient Rome, 2000 years ago? I'm not racist, please understand, but this sticks out as sore thumb from that trailer...if someone can explain I'd be grateful...what position does he represent? Edit: I just googled it. "I started heading down that hole, but I’ve done enough biopics, and I’m sure people are already saying, 'Macrinus wasn’t Black!' They’ll say, 'Well, there were no Black people in Rome.' Oh, really? Well, how did they get so dark-skinned? You know, somebody rolled through there. Go call up Hannibal. Maybe he did," he said. The color of Washington's character wasn't the only debate in the build-up to the Gladiator sequel. Washington also courted controversy for using his natural accent rather than a North African one to reflect Macrinus' background. Washington defended the decision, suggesting he didn't want to offend anyone from the region by talking in a disingenuous North African accent." I don't even know what to say... 🤦♂
@@xBonafidexProdigy no question about that, I also like his acting... but that's basically like putting an Eskimo in a historical fiction drama/film about headhunters of the Amazon. It just doesn't fit the time and culture around that time.
Rome was majority Roman/Italian peninsula people but it was Multi ethnic, not multi cultural. Romans would defeat people and take them as slaves and give them opportunity to earn freedom and become a Roman or they'd let them join the Army. Many times there was Germans and North Africans in powerful positions. Denzels character was a slave under marcus Aurelius that earned his freedom and had opportunity to gain power.
Lmao. Yall ever notice anytime some one starts dogging a movie Joe looks at his computer screen almost like he’s not listening? I’ve noticed it in a lot of their reviews, especially with Alex.
@ but it always happens to be when one of the others(mostly Alex), is speaking negative? And then he always says a remark like this one for Alex to turn his critic brain off. lol.
A Director's Cut is very likely going to happen. Ridley just admitted it. Given the 2000 original had one which improved it even more, I look forward to what this one does.
They rarely filled it with water in the early days of the Colosseum but they eventually added an underground pulley and elevator system that prevented them from filling it with water afterwards.
I don't care what anyone says. No woke messages. No gender swaps. No time traveling multiverses. No sky beam final fight. Just some good old fashioned sweaty, bearded men fighting. I've missed that so much.
As an Italian, using ancient Rome to pander to modern America felt almost insulting sometimes (Like the Maximus epitome written in fricking ENGLISH, a language that would be invented in a different age). As an Historian I did found it pretty funny though. Crazy to say the naval battle in the colosseum was the most plausible moments… the sharks. Roman DID raise sharks for eating them (that’s how rad they were), but in the watered arena they would have inserted crocodiles or hyppos more probably.
They actually did fill the Colosseum with water back in the day and have water battles. The sharks were Hollywoodized tho
I wanted friggin sharks with friggin Lazer beams attached to their heads.
Indeed it was called : Naumachie, but they were mostly done next of rivers, more convenient.
@@jagtigerFor small arenas but for the main coliseum in rome they flooded that thing. Had little naval battles must have been a sight to see
What likely confused them is that what they visit today in Italy is not how the thing was when it was first built.
In its latest form, it was really impossible to flood. And they got that engineering part correct lol
The problem is that it was not always like that. It used to have much less stuff underground and it was possible to flood the arena.
As curiosity, by the time in which the movies supposedly happen, it was no longer possible to flood lol
@@Banished-rx4ol I wouldn't call this a fact though. Nobody is still alive to confirm this. I have my doubts this theory that people treat as fact actually happened.
Anyone who appreciated the meaning behind the line “are you not entertained!” From the first film, will recognize the irony in bloodlust being the only reason this sequel is “entertaining” for anyone.
Great comment.
Exactly so.
That comment is better than the review.
I was entertained by Gladiator 2, for me the final duel and speech of that movie justified everything. Nice too know Maximus’s unknowingly had a 2nd son who indeed did grow up, turn into a good fighter & (heavily implied) too became emperor of Rome. Gladiator 10/10. Gladiator two 7/10. The sequel is driven by overly realistic premise to make it happen but the payoff is worth it. I appreciate it for what it represents for the grand scheme of Maximus legacy knowing his bloodline didn’t die with him and his son became the good version of Commodes. Someone who had an automatic birthright or at least a vary strong claim to the throne but also had the right moral compass to be trusted with it as well.
We're not getting movies like that any more, are we... it's sad how low has Hollywood dropped in quality over the years...
I find this to be tantalizingly accurate...When I was in the theater: I saw this movie in XD from a Cinemark Theater...I wondered why I was so enraptured with the visuals and how bombastic it was...but when I stopped for a MOMENT to compare it to the original, I realized that it wasnt for the same reasons...
I liked it when Pedro said "I'm Gladiator Too" and started gladiating all over the place
Hopefully the Mountain comes out and squashes his face again!
I hear Russell paid them not to be in this one...
It's Gladiating Time!
EXACTLY WHAT ALEX SAID! Ridley made some incredible movies BACK IN THE DAY, but he lost his touch years ago.
He's only as good as his script. He's useless without a great script.
The last duel was underappreciated
After Tony died a part of Ridley did too
The martian and all the money in the world were good
@@ToejamandEarl1983 that’s what I’m sayin!
water inside the colosseum was an actual thing, no sharks tho
What!? Do you mean to say they just made up Sharknado??? 🤯
Naumachia. Only used as a convenient way to get rid of excess slaves though. Same as the venationes(beast hunts). Formal gladiators belonging to a specific class were far too expensive to pit against each other en masse. Gotta make those last.
Denzel Washington was playing his character Frank Lucas from American Gangster rather than someone from Ancient Rome.
Okay but that’s one of his best roles in any film. I see your point but that’s not the worst thing I’ve heard about this movie.
CGI Monkeys are realisitc compared to friggin SHARKS in the Colosseum!!
he even walked like GTA thug npc
@@austin.....still bad though. He didn’t even try.
Denzel brought more camp to the role than Matt Lucas (he's as camp as it gets).
CGI monkeys, bro… CGI friggin battle monkeys. Let that sink in.
Real monkeys are unpredictable and dangerous
so?
They looked really good though
Who the fuck would use real monkeys in a battle scene? You want stuntmen to die?
Big fuckin deal
There is no such things as Gladiator 1 and Gladiator 2.
There is Gladiator, and then there is this turd.
Lol exactly
So glad im not going insane. This movie was so trashy in comparison.
Well theres a third one in the works. And I am not joking
@@Autobotmatt428 I tend to believe that...
It was trash. But it was a delightfully funny bad watch for me. I truly was riveted at every wrong decision made here and there. And the final act does not make up for it. It is actually rushed, has no build up from the butchered nature of the edit, and feels unearned thanks to how bland and a charisma vacuum Paul Blanscal is.
“Alex has his critic-brain on”
Aren’t you guys reviewing a movie?
Yes! We want honesty , not pandering to the audience. Alex being honest is good!
Its funny because AJ is usually prattling on about being a "Critic" first.
Alex is always telling it like he sees it with his review
They have to say stuff like that or they will be bombarded by general audience brainlets. People can't handle criticism without it being as sugar-coated as possible.
Yes, this was a conversation.
Shall we have things written in Latin or English?
Ridley Scott: Yes
Lmao! It made no sense
Why all the tip toeing? Give your opinion and stand by it. I know you're not allowed to like what others don't like and dislike what others do, but f those people.
They aren't tip toeing imo. It's complicated. The movies fun and entertaining, but has no substance. That's why they come off of two minds: the fan and the critic.
What a bottle of whiskey does to attention span smh
Joe had to FIGHT for this cinematic experience, you can see that lol
This was a disappointment for me. Yes the battles were good but when the story doesn't tie together I tune out... which I did here. 6/10.
Except the horrible cgi with the animals
lol that's still a pretty good rating fam
@@sohailanjum7 i think it needed some additional editing
The first movie told its plot in between its battles, but this sequel once the battles were done still had like 40 minutes of plot to cover, this movie thought it had to reach the gladiator battle right away, but the original movie took its time before its first arena fight
@@xBonafidexProdigy Disappointing compared to the original. Had good production values, decent acting. I rarely give 5s and 4s unless its bad. Was still above average for me.
You know it's a red flag when Hans Zimmer didn't come back to compose. At lot of the epic-ness of the first movie was due to the phenomenal score.
"I was bored, bad script, the plot was bad, the actors rang hollow, their speeches really held everything back, i'm not motivated, no heart." But it's not a bad movie guys! 5 out of 10, not bad! Come on now guys, let's not slop up garbage just because Hollywood can't give us much.
Giving something a 5/10 is not "slopping up garbage" lmao
@k--music when you say 5/10 isn't bad with the quote above, it is.
All worked up over a gladiator 2 review like a straight up neigh gegga
@@DRod1517 There are far worse things than boredom. At least he didn't hate it with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. 😂
But I think they were rating it as a brainless popcorn film not as the same level as a best picture contender.
I think that comes from comparing Gladiator 1 to this movie. They said if you watched this as a stand alone it would be an entertaining watch. I agree with the sentiment. I was entertained by the action for the most part, but as “Gladiator 2”… it rang hollow for sure.
Why is there still no movie set in the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage? You know, the wars that made Rome conquer land outside of Italy for the first time and where they came close to be erased from history 3 times? With all madness that happened in them like insane sea battles and land battles with elephants, storms that wiped out entire armies, and all these different well documented characters from Aemilianus (who returned to Carthage as a POW when being sent back Rome by the Carthaginians to ask them to make peace but instead told them to fight to the bitter end) to Hannibal Barcas and the legendary Scipio Africanus you could easily make a LotR quality trilogy and you dont even need a screenplay for that. Interstingly, there is one short segment in the newest Indiana Jones movie which is the only movie to show a part of the Punic wars, the Siege of Syracuse by the Romans, with the famous inventor Archimedes taking part in it. It was the most interesting part of that movie.
Average people don’t know what that is, so Hollywood is afraid to make it.
It's so strange that a random guy on the internet can come up with story ideas for films that are much more interesting and awesome than anything Hollywood does. Hollywood has the historical knowledge of a toddler lol.
a movie about hannibal yes plz, but not by ridley scott😂
Hollywood hates making historical movies, any movies they make are always repeats of other eras already done, so many interesting stories are glossed over.
@@donovan5656Perhaps, but overall there are more people interested in learning history as well and also historical films are becoming more popular, so I’m sure they can try at least, especially since they’re making Hannibal movie, as well as Cleopatra, and Joan of Arc. We’ll see if they end up being good however.
They did actually fill the colosseum with water and do battles in it. They were called Naumachia.
They did not have sharks though.
@@broodwarjc1517 it's clearly meant to be a hypnotic take on alternate history though; everything is loosely based with a multitude of creative liberties taken
@@OK-fi4yq Carrying a shark from the ocean into a land based arena in Ancient times is a crazy stretch.
they did use alligators
not the one in Rome, under the fight area are the rooms for the gladiators
Is this all Hollywood is capable of these days? Flashy but hollow mimicry with no heart?
Sadly, yes
It's been like that for at least a decade now.
Ridley Scott is perfect representation of current Hollywood
Don't forget lecturing the audience with obnoxious messaging.
Wait, now you know. Hollywood's original script is always bad. Even for well known Producers and writers. The majority of good Hollywood movies come from a book, novels, or adaptation of other genres like animation.
Be honest guys. Tell us what you think. I don’t mind if you don’t like it. If it’s bad it’s bad. Enough with the turn your brain of you’ll like it. Most people watching you have brains that they like to use.
Ugh, films have fallen SOO far that he sees this as good. If he watched the first movie right before this, and then watched this, he would NOT even consider this a 3/10. The first movie is a 10/10. Also Denzel is being himself, he didn't even do an accent, like dude you are acting in a PERIOD movie, can't do an accent?
Do we even have a concept of what an ancient Roman speaking English would sound like? Italian accents didn't exist because Italian didn't exist.
@@dahalofreeek in a period movie they could at least treat 1 accent as the region to make it consistent. Then again, Gladiator was also never made to be historically accurate. These movies are not like Rome tv series that has more historical accuracy
Latin
@@dahalofreeek You know which accent DEFINITELY did not exist back then? An American one. We're not asking every character to speak Latin, just avoid things that everyone know didn't exist and would otherwise break the immersion.
This movie is about as realistic and accurate as 300.
Man eating baboons on steroids!
A rhino being ridden on and being used to fight!
Sharks in the colosseum!
At least the first one was grounded in realism in terms of gladiatorial combat.
Who the hell watched 300 expecting it to be realistic?
@gamebent1 , did you bump your head?
@@randomanton So you think something is wrong with my thinking in that I didn't expect 300 to be historically accurate? Perhaps it had something to do with the giant dude with blades for arms, or the eight foot tall Xerxes.
I'm not the one who seems like they bumped their head.
@Gamebent1 Right? Wasn't it based off of a graphic novel? Lol
@@Gamebent1If people haven’t read the graphic novel, or knew it existed, I can see how someone would think it might be somewhat historically accurate going in?
Honestly it follows history fairly decently apart from the obvious Hollywood inserted stuff. Persian and Xerxes appearances/ Ephialtes hunchback/ monsters/etc.
Expecting realism though? On drugs.
Pedro Pascal wasn't in the movie as much as it was advertised, I dont know if he was a later addition, budget constraints, etc but I think the movie would had a tighter plot if he wasnt there at all, there are chunks of the movie where he is forgotten at all
Yes he was late addition and there are reports going around that Pedro Pascal was only hired to fulfill the mandatory DEI checks because Pedro is considered South American and non-white.
You clearly didn't watch the movie lol
Terrible movie. The main character had no charisma and screen presence. Why did he roll dirt in his hand in the arena!? Why would he do something a farmer would do and happened to do what his father he never knew did!?
Him being the son of a man who obviously cheated, that same man whose entire story was revenge for his family he loved was anger inducing.
Pedro pascal should have been the main character!
The two armies at the end cheering him … why !?
Awful CGI
He has zero bond with his fellow gladiators and they follow him for no reason.
The jailbreak made zero sense.
It needed NO link to the first film at all.
Ridley Scott AGAIN with memberries. Stop making films Ridley!!!
Lucius was badly written, the actor could not help it.
The gladiatiors following Lucius made no sense. He had not even revealed to them.who. he is.
He literally said who he was right before the fight
@@averagegamer8925 I saw he did before two armies in the end
doesn't mean Maximus cheated, it could have been a relationship before his wife but yeah, it was bad
Pedro Pascal acting was horrible…it had zero emotion…zero era awareness…I don’t know why people praise it
Absolutely - plus that weird Spanish/Latin accent that he used took me straight out.
@@arpitakodagu9854if anything his accent was the closest to what tomans sounded like than english speakers
idiots exist everywhere
There are thousands of years of Roman culture and yet Hollywood is trying to convince us that this tired in-name-only sequel is the only part worth telling. The US film industry is collapsing and we're watching it in real time.
they deserve it. AI is going to rule.
No, actually, they really did flood an arena at one point for a gladiator event in real life.
13:39 the colosseum was indeed filled with water and held naval battles. No sharks
Glad you said it. I was getting annoyed at how certain he was.
Yeah, it astounds me how confident Joe is with his ignorance. But, I have learned to just smile and nod rather than get angry.
Yeah, they're dumb when it comes to actual history. But yeah, there weren't sharks
Guys, please stop with the 'you're going to be mad'. We just want YOUR opinions and thoughts. For me, this movie was a miss and had me rolling my eyes with all the unnecessary CGI, overly pathetic script and plot that didn't make sense to me. And Denzel, oh my, please stop playing the Training day cop - it feels so inappropriate here. That scene with slitting the emperor's throat had me burst out laughing. Gladiator 2 has no soul, unfortunately.
Ridley Scott and David Scarpa should not be a part of any movie ever again. They DESTROYED Napoleon and now they did the same to Gladiator.
Denzel is 69yo and he manages a decent fight against the people's champion? Alright.
Tarantino said Directors have a sell by date....Scott has passed his....This movie is a weak copy of the original.
They actually did fill the colosseum with water
100 percent but sharks......haha
Who cares? They never had CGI sharks that look worse than the one from Jaws...from 50 years ago.
@@kh7688 hahaha thats pretty bad when you think about it. Love jaws but yeah that shark looks bad when revisting. So for these sharks to look worst is hilariously bad.
Crocodiles or Alligators is what they used, knowing how Sharks shark made this laughable.
I gave it a 4 on your scale. Sharks in the coliseum, bad CGI monkeys, story, dialogues, “twist”, editing - I was face palming throughout. Pedro Pascal and Denzel - hot as usual
They were the worst part of the movie
They put pedro pascal in a lot of movies but i dont think he fits in a lot of them. In my opinion he doesnt fit the role in this movie. And denzel. Same. Great actor but he doesnt fit this role.
This is fkin stupid the dream Maximus died for was not realised this is as pointless as a movie can get,the old man has lost it and should be stopped.
My Gladiata! - Denzel Washington
Other Joe is going to be missing all that Columbian snow candy, lol.
🤔😂🤫
Good review, but I really enjoyed Alex in this one. He did his usual critiques, but then still argued for having a higher score than OJ and AJ gave it and still recommended going to see it.
Ridley's films suffer from him rushing his projects, best example is Prometheus, it had EVERYTHING to be it's own thing yet as great as Alien, and he half ass'd EVERY segment.
Joe getting so defensive over other Joe and Alex's opinion of this movie. They're supposed to be movie critics. It should be ok if someone doesnt feel the same way about a movie as you.
The mediocreness of this film will echo in eternity.
The guy who played Lucius in the first gladiator is still alive and an actor. I'm sure he could have reprised his role and did a better job than the the random guy they got for this.
The lead guy looks like a gym bro
And Ridley dared to lie, this was his best film ?! Bro. 😂
Nah men it sucked no reason to watch it over first one
No one is saying to watch it "over" the first one. What are you, ten years old?
You sound dumb af. Why would you watch this one over the first one when it's a sequel. They are supposed to go in hand in hand.
I rewatch the first one every few years but I won't rewatch this one ever again thats what I mean
@@AdrianUzumakii who gives a damn what you rewatch? It can be not as good but still be a worthwhile movie? tf is up with you
@@AdrianUzumakii fair dos man, tbh I have no inclination to watch this one. The first one is probably in my top ten films ever, so the incentive to watch the new one isn't there. Not that it could ever sully the first, I can separate them, as I have done with other sequels to films (looking at you Star Wars). But I understand more now what you mean 🤝🏻
People afraid to criticise denzel but he was definitely over the top in this role.
Been waiting for this review.
I saw it and while the original is a 12/10 for me (fav movie of all time), the sequel is a 7/10 imo. Good movie, but nothing close to the first. I did like Denzel's character he was the best part.
Yeah honestly it’s a solid 7-8/10 at best. It’s not by any means near the first movie at all, but it’s a fun good film at least and that’s okay.
That’s what I feel; compared to the first movie it’s quite the disappointment. But in its own it’s perfectly acceptable as a B rated movie.
@@dustindubbo2892 The original is my favorite movie of all time, but I, unlike so many have and will, did not go to it to compare it to the first. If you do that, it will lose every time. But as it's own thing, I think it's perfectly fine. I was satisfied, overall.
Denzel was the worst part. Totally took me out of the movie
@@MrThunda51 Exactly my opinion
No. Just no. No story, poor acting and wost writing since Lord fo the rings the rings of power.
That dog ahh show isn't lotr 😹😹atleast not in my head lol
Shit was so horrible I was so sad
So original script was Russel Crowe becoming the God Emperor of Mankind
Joe spends all day at the movies and then talking about the movie then takes the weekend off and wonders why he gets no game reviews done… I’m sure we will hear in the next news clip how he just needs more time guys and he’s very sorry he hasn’t gotten around to anything. I wish he would just come out and say he doesn’t want to do the work any more and just wants to watch TV and talk to his friends instead of making excuses all the time.
It’s why he got fat too
Pov a whiny ahh cringe grown man baby typed a essay
@@sillygoose4263 kekw I know writing is hard for you but some of us are a little more capable 💀
@13:40 They did stage naval fights in the Colosseum.. Those events were called The Naumachia... They would divert water from the aqueduct to fill the arena space which took about 4 hours to fill..
Emperor Titus was the first one to hold a Naumachia in the new Colosseum, reenacting the battle between Athens and Syracuse, the ships were modified with flat bottoms to accommodate for the shallow water in the arena...
5/10? Joe, ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?
1:19 OJ a passport bro 🙏😂
We are not entertained
I had a feeling the movie was going to be like this
And i think pedro's acting is always very wooden in everything
Was it OJ or Alex who got AJ in the eye for this😂
Bull sharks can live in fresh and salt water
The fact they didn't get hanz zimmer back for the music for me was the biggest turn off and the music from hgw was crap but i guess hanz did not want to return because he new the story was weak ad did not have the emotional heart of the original
It's a real shame Ridley Scott is focussing on a lot of bad sequel ideas. His last great movie was The Last Duel in my opinion.
The martian is ridleys best movie in the past 10 years
Cant wait for Hollywood to make Of Mice and Men 2.
Lenny comes back from the dead to pet the rabbits, and George becomes a rodeo clown.
Is it just me or does Joe get salty everytime Alex disagrees with him and tells the truth? I always go with what Alex says because he seems unbiased in his reviews
because aj is the average joe representation (sometimes he's ace joe, sometimes he's abysmal joe) while alex is the apex critic representation. oj is the lulzy but sometimes also serious wildcard otherworldly joe
Just a buddy still trying to agree but disagree. Nothing wrong with that.
@@kukuhimanputraraharja8084this is the best characterisation of these guys ever said. Wish more people got this 😂
21:30 No, I dont think anyone will be mad
I'm mad it took angry joe that long to admit he was describing a 5 out of 10 movie the whole time, lol
Cope. Just call it the trash cash grab that it was
Was the hardest 6.5 of all time. Denzel was predictable incredible, however.
I agree with the rating but Denzel was predictably un-incredible. Absolutely zero range, couldn't even muster together a different accent. I've seen him play this character in probably seven other of his movies. How is that incredible?
@@Jonas-p4x9h load of waffle
Action scenes were cool. Story execution was beyond awful.
You will never top " My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius"
its a vile copy of My name is Inigo Montoya, from the princess bride.
I was bored in that last 30 min till that final fight. Yeah this was not great. 5/10
It pains me deeply to say this but, this movie was trash! They stole all the story beats from the first movie, the dialogue was garbage, Pedro character was the worst performance I have ever seen. . They tried to make a movie on remember berries. Denzel was playing Denzel the entire time. Why did he kill the mother? What was the reason. Commodus in the first one had depth and nuance, these brother emperors were cartoon bad guys. Ridley Scott is done... His last 4 movies have been 5 out of 10's, at that being kind.
This is one of those reviews I probably enjoyed watching more than I would enjoy the movie.
they actually did fill the Colosseum with water...
It was really underwhelming to be sure.
I expected way more.
And yes, i was not entertained really.
AJ you should implement skits into these movie reviews the same way you do for Angry Game Reviews, no need for costumes just green screen, you did it in your old Godzilla 2014 movie review and some other ones, I think these would blow up way more if you added some of that
Nah I like that these are its own thing. I would be pissed if he did that.
You shouldn't be using real animals when we can do CGI nowadays. Like 90% of the time the conditions for the animal are terrible
Fine then don't do CGI in general cause it takes you out of the film
All the jurassic park movies used cgi as well as animatronics , were you taken out of those movies as well ??
@@randomantonit takes YOU out of the movie. You don't speak for everyone.
@@randomanton bro thinks the only CGI in a movie are for living creatures. Wait till you see how much CGI is used in your favorite films. Like in just the environments alone, or to enhance a live set. Was your immersion ruined when you saw LOTR too?
@@sebravenmodern cgi is mostly terrible. And they too lazy too use animatronics
71 % for critics and audience 84% from rotten tomatoe , 7/10 on IMDb
the reviews where bought by ridley himself they are all fake to boost box office.
His "father" Maximus? Huh?
Maximus Coitus Interuptus
Ridley's actor's direction really shows when he's on auto-mode. He let's people do their thing, that's why you get Denzel doing Denzel instead of the character he's playing.
Which is baffling considering these movies cost 250-300 million dollars and are supposed to have a degree of professional polish and authenticity. Yet fanboys always make the excuse "just turn your brain off and enjoy".
@@karannegi7199 In a way it makes sense, any filmmaker will tell you, making big movies makes you lazy, cause there's 2 people for EVERYTHING you need. That's why they cost as much as they do. Especially Pedro and Denzel. Making small movies is where it's at, a good crew with their heart in it and using their brain can make a small movie look like the big one, and a bad crew makes a big movie look "small".
You got fan boys, and you got the general audiences, they don't know what they're watching, I can't blame them really. What's the general IQ world wide? 80-ish realistically?
@@4Everlast romulus made money so they are relying on inadvertent people falling for the brand bait and switch.
@@alltheflavors9673 Getting 350 mil. out of a 100+ invested ain't really a success. The script was piss-poor, the stuffing of a dead man in the roll of the android was not only done poorly but in poor taste, the characters make more of the same dumb decisions(well the script writer does) the director of it is know for polishing other people's shit, as he did this time. It's a homage to Ridley, but... It's an excuse to rehash the same shit we've seen already in better Alien movies. It's paced TERRIBLY especially the 3rd act. The xeno's make moronic and nonsensical decisions(the script, again) the speed of it's growth is getting more ridiculous as movies go on for NO fkn reason, again, the music is stocky AF, the main character is what, a fkn child? The Intro's rushed with no actual reason. What's left is Ok. It's almost on a Pray(Predator) level of "quality", meaning a hair strand better, but not much more.
The Martian was the last great movie Ridley Scott made.
Agree. It’s like he doesn’t even realise what made that movie tick. The guy has to overcome so many things. Heart wrenching. In gladiator 2 the hero is fully developed from the get go without any resistance. Unbelievably bland. Absolutely ridiculous.
Agreed.
not great, mid, just didn't suck so much.
Tard take
From Jay-Z rap song in the trailers to CGI sharks and Denzel with a New York accent in ancient Rome.... i think maybe its time Ridley Scott retires.
They DID fill the coliseum with water and re enact battles such as those from the Punic wars with Carthage.
I can actually explain about the naval battle reenactments, which were a real thing. They were NOT in the coliseum. Like Joe says, there wasn't room, and the bottoms were hollow, and there was wood flooring which would warp. It was also very difficult to pump water into there. HOWEVER, they WERE able to do that at the Circus Maximus. It was large enough, and it was placed near the river... specifically so they could do this. There was a whole system to pour water into the Circus Maximus area, and they could bring boats in at the same time. Then they would have these battle reenactments. You can see the old grounds still in Italy, but they don't look so dramatic. The marble was was stripped to build Christian monuments. In fact, the same was done to the coliseum; the difference is that the coliseum was also built of stone, which is why so much of it still exists. But the Circus Maximus was nearly all marble and other things that were used in these other structures.
Been looking forward to seeing the boys reunite in time to review Gladiator 2. The sequel obviously is not as great as the original classic starring Russell Crowe but Gladiator 2 is still a thrilling & fun epic adventure film with cool fight & battle scenes, a solid sequel to an all-time masterpiece. I just wish they hadn't recast Lucius.
FUN FACT: Lucius being revealed as Maximus & Lucilla's son was made canon long before Gladiator 2 was even in development, in the pages of the official Gladiator movie novelization book that was released in bookstores when Gladiator 1 originally released in theaters.
11:07 = Whoa stop right there Alex, leave The Last Duel alone. That was a fantastic movie. You guys gave The Last Duel a solid review. Yes it didn't do well in theaters but that doesn't mean it was a bad movie which it wasn't.
13:18 = Actually yes Joe. The Romans in real-life did in fact occasionally fill The Colossieum with water to pit gladiators against each other in mock naval battles.
That reunification in Elysium is gonna be awkward... "Hey son, meet your older brother, Lucius."
I was very much entertained in the cinema. It was fun. Would I have that much fun if I watched it on TV? Eh, maybe? Would I watch it again? Probably not.
I actually loved this movie. My only gripe is that they link it with the first one too much. Were the main character not related to Maximus but instead more of a spiritual successor to Maximus the movie would be infinitely better.
Don't worry it's reviewers that have ruined the concept of fair ratings and just 10/10 everything that is average. So this makes normal people think a 7 is a fair rating for the same average content. A 7 is way too much. That's a bloody good movie you'd watch multiple times. A 10 is something you will talk about for your entire life, breaks cross demographics and defines a genre. Pulp Fiction, Elvis Presley, The Beatles you know absolute class is not the norm but you'd think it is with modern writers posting reviews they are paid to by the company promoting their movies.
denzel scenes were 🔥
Sorry to say, Gladiator 2 7/10, Wicked 8/10. Gladiator 1 100/10
The first gladiator film was 'complete' imo. I don't think I'll be watching this one.
Anyone wondering what happened to A.J.'s eye; I did that.
What happened?
I said "Ouch" 2.2 seconds before Joe.
"Every Ridley film since x is dogshit..." Okay.
Also, mad love for Joe's statement that history will not be kind to this film. It was the same with Tron 2: the soundtrack was phenomenal and the visuals were tops. The story, however ...
can someone explain why is there a black person in position of huge power in Ancient Rome, 2000 years ago? I'm not racist, please understand, but this sticks out as sore thumb from that trailer...if someone can explain I'd be grateful...what position does he represent?
Edit: I just googled it.
"I started heading down that hole, but I’ve done enough biopics, and I’m sure people are already saying, 'Macrinus wasn’t Black!' They’ll say, 'Well, there were no Black people in Rome.' Oh, really? Well, how did they get so dark-skinned? You know, somebody rolled through there. Go call up Hannibal. Maybe he did," he said.
The color of Washington's character wasn't the only debate in the build-up to the Gladiator sequel. Washington also courted controversy for using his natural accent rather than a North African one to reflect Macrinus' background. Washington defended the decision, suggesting he didn't want to offend anyone from the region by talking in a disingenuous North African accent."
I don't even know what to say... 🤦♂
Who gives a shit, he's a good actor
@@xBonafidexProdigy no question about that, I also like his acting... but that's basically like putting an Eskimo in a historical fiction drama/film about headhunters of the Amazon. It just doesn't fit the time and culture around that time.
Rome was majority Roman/Italian peninsula people but it was Multi ethnic, not multi cultural. Romans would defeat people and take them as slaves and give them opportunity to earn freedom and become a Roman or they'd let them join the Army. Many times there was Germans and North Africans in powerful positions. Denzels character was a slave under marcus Aurelius that earned his freedom and had opportunity to gain power.
look at the portrait of the two emperors, how can you expect historical accuracy
Gladiator II The Director's Cut (where there is added gore, extra fights, 45 extra minutes, and a unicorn dream) is going to be amazing.
Lmao. Yall ever notice anytime some one starts dogging a movie Joe looks at his computer screen almost like he’s not listening? I’ve noticed it in a lot of their reviews, especially with Alex.
He has notes about points in wants to reference next.
@ but it always happens to be when one of the others(mostly Alex), is speaking negative? And then he always says a remark like this one for Alex to turn his critic brain off. lol.
A Director's Cut is very likely going to happen. Ridley just admitted it.
Given the 2000 original had one which improved it even more, I look forward to what this one does.
Are you not entertained
Legendary comment ❤
Not really no
I totally didn't expect ANYONE to make that comment. 👏
Total crap and ripoff of original movie, 3/10
If the only good part of the movie was the battles, then the movie is bad, not average ...
the colosseum was indeed filled with water to re-enact naval battles!
That happened in the early stages of the colloseum as later on there were trap doors underneath which would have flooded
They rarely filled it with water in the early days of the Colosseum but they eventually added an underground pulley and elevator system that prevented them from filling it with water afterwards.
I don't care what anyone says. No woke messages. No gender swaps. No time traveling multiverses. No sky beam final fight. Just some good old fashioned sweaty, bearded men fighting. I've missed that so much.
if you like watching "sweaty bearded men fighting" then you'll love the UFC
@mr.e301 maybe I should have added; with Hollywood choreography and epic music. Where no one actually gets hurt
@@Bluestar1079 maybe I should've added that I was being sarcastic
@@mr.e301 I decided to be just like everyone else and take sarcastic statements completely serious.
As an Italian, using ancient Rome to pander to modern America felt almost insulting sometimes (Like the Maximus epitome written in fricking ENGLISH, a language that would be invented in a different age). As an Historian I did found it pretty funny though. Crazy to say the naval battle in the colosseum was the most plausible moments… the sharks. Roman DID raise sharks for eating them (that’s how rad they were), but in the watered arena they would have inserted crocodiles or hyppos more probably.
Hello Joe
Hi