CAPTION: PARAMOUNT PICTURES
By Dan Deming
There will be a variety of movie choices for theatre-goers to enjoy between now and new years’ but if you want an action extravaganza and don’t mind the blood and gore that goes along the second Gladiator movie, cleverly titled Gladiator II, may be your cup of tea.
It’s filled with spectacular battle scenes (not recommended for children, teens or squeamish adults), good acting, a not so easy to follow but interesting story and a $250 million budget that transports us back to Roman colosseum days and makes virtually everyone glad they weren’t living in those evil days.
While much of the movie is not historically accurate, Ridley Scott, the producer/director, has done a superb job in crafting another big-screen spectacular that some have already listed among the top ten films of 2024 and likely to get serious Oscar consideration. After opening with a creditable fight between sea and land forces there are even more seemingly real battles between Gladiators and wild dogs and a fighter-mounted rhinoceros, created with 3-D printing and controlled with a radio remote.
Denzel Washington may be the only Hollywood name you recognize but also give credit to Irish actor Paul Mesual as the chief good guy, Lucius, and another little-known male, Pedro Pascal as a Roman general. The original Gladiator who helped the 2000 film win Academy Awards, Russell Crowe, isn’t around for the sequel except a small flashback. Filming took place in Morocco, United Kingdom and the island of Malta where Rome was recreated.
Again, the gore including severed heads as they are being cut off and dangled for display, make this a film a lot of Tribune readers will want to stay away from. But for the type of move it is, Gladiator II is extremely well done and worth seeing. It came out the same weekend as Wicked, the musical, and Disneys’ second Moana. While both are doing somewhat better at the box office Glad had already grossed 327 million dollars before last weekend hit, topping its’ staggering production cost.
