Rome teeters on the brink in Its fall is said to be imminent. The dream it once symbolized is dead. The once high-minded ideals of the Roman Empire have deteriorated across a venal land now ruled by a pale-faced emperor.
On the throne is Geta (Joseph Quinn), who sits alongside his sniveling brother, Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). The heart of this Rome, of course, is the Coliseum, where throngs cheer for the gladiators who fight and die. There, the ageless Scott remains remarkably at home. The arena, with its eruptions of spectacle and violence, is a stand in for the director鈥檚 own vision of the big screen: Go big or go home.
This dichotomy 鈥� a fallen society and its insatiable need for entertainment 鈥� is the clever and not altogether flattering backdrop of the 鈥淕ladiator鈥� films. Part two, set 20 years after the events of the first movie, brings a new combatant to the Coliseum 鈥� a mysterious outsider named Lucius Verus, played by Paul Mescal. And to answer the inevitable question, yes. Yes, I was quite entertained.
鈥淕ladiator II鈥� isn鈥檛 quite the prestige film the first one, a best-picture winner, was in 2001. It鈥檚 more a swaggering, sword-and-sandal epic that prizes the need to entertain above all else. No one in 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� understands that more than . His performance as the Machiavellian power broker Macrinus is a delicious blur of robes and grins 鈥� so compellingly over-the-top that he nearly reaches 1990s Al Pacino standards.
Inside this Rome are scattered interests in toppling it, including Marcus Acacius, a decorated general who has just returned from a successful campaign taking Numidia in northwest Africa. (That siege makes the movie鈥檚 blistering opening, with an armada racing at almost NASCAR speed toward the walled city, with towers on the bows of the boats to scale the parapets.)
Acacius is a loyal Roman but, when he learns that the emperors have only more bloodlust for further territory and more war, he and his wife, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) begin plotting to overthrow the brothers.
In a movie where everyone nurtures some secret, few stay hidden long. Foremost among them is Lucius Verus, a warrior in Numidia who鈥檚 taken prisoner and forced to fight as a gladiator. He鈥檚 the son of Lucilla and Maximus (Crowe in 鈥淕ladiator鈥�). Following the events of that film, Lucilla sent him, an heir to the empire, to Numidia to grow up outside of the empire鈥檚 power struggles.
Mescal, the terrific Irish actor of and smoothly steps into a blockbuster arena for the first time. 鈥淭his one is interesting,鈥� says Macrinus, eyeing him for the first time. Mescal鈥檚 Lucius is vengeful 鈥� the Roman army kills his warrior wife in the Numidia battle. 鈥淩age pours out of you like milk,鈥� Macrinus says, admiringly. The glint of mischief in Mescal鈥檚 eyes gives Lucius a little more character than your average revenge-seeking gladiator.
We watch as Lucius cunningly survives arena after arena. Meanwhile, Macrinus manipulates him to steer the public鈥檚 routing interest away from the emperor. It鈥檚 a rich if slightly cartoonish tapestry of palace intrigue, with Macrinus deftly pulling all the strings.
But, really, none of the power machinations are as compelling as the increasingly carnivalesque scenes of the Coliseum. In the gladiators' first trip there, they鈥檙e greeted by man-eating monkeys. Next, it鈥檚 a rider atop a giant, charging rhinoceros. Then, the piece de resistance: a flooded Coliseum festering with sharks. There are even little mock islands with palm trees spread about.
Now, 鈥淕ladiator II鈥� may not stand up to . (Some issues were also taken with Scott鈥檚 last historical epic, which likewise was scripted by David Scarpa). But this is not a movie built for accuracy. It鈥檚 made for taking a few bits of history and inflating them into a feast and the charms of watching Washington鈥檚 Macrinus brandish a head recently relieved of its body.
Yes, heads do roll in Scott鈥檚 鈥淕ladiator鈥� sequel. Macrinus succeeds in whipping Rome into a frenzy. In fact, he does it so easily and guilefully that, once things begin unraveling for him, the air leaves 鈥淕ladiator II.鈥� You don鈥檛 quite believe his recklessness after he so patiently and artfully turned the screws.
Nevertheless, two possible successors emerge 鈥� Lucius, who has a birthright to the throne, and Macrinus, who comes to within its grasp purely by his own wit. Is it any wonder that I was rooting for Macrinus, all the way? How could you not, with Washington chewing scenery like this and making zestful (and rather apt) pronouncements like: 鈥淭hat, my friend, is politics!鈥�
鈥淕ladiator II,鈥� a Paramount Pictures release. is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for 鈥渟trong bloody violence.鈥� Running time: 148 minutes. Three stars out of four.
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
