Ridley Scott returns to the director's chair 24 years later to bring us the sequel no one asked for. Taking place 16 years after the conclusion of the first story, Maximus is a distant memory and Rome has reverted back to its old ways. We are introduced to Hanno (Paul Mescal), who is taken into slavery, and you can just guess his connection to this plot. Rounding out the cast is Denzel and Pedro Pascal, whose allegiances flip-flop depending on the finicky demands of the script. This is another one of those films which audiences seem to lap up, but I can't for the life of me figure out why. It's technically competent but very dull, and never manages to rise out from underneath the shadow of the original Gladiator, which was superior in every respect. The plot feels completely derivative of what's come before, except this time we've got CGI baboons, rhinos and sharks added to the mix, along with even more senseless acts of violence in the arena. And, if you can believe it, Gladiator III is apparently already underway.
IIS flooded Colosseums out of V
4 comments:
I can't think of a single time a delayed sequel has ever worked out.
There are some rare ones that work. I thought BJ and GB were decent. I know some people dig The Force Awakens and Top Gun sequel, though I was less enthralled. Mad Max: Fury Road, Cobra Kai, Creed and Blade Runner 2049 are often cited examples. Sometimes it's just a nostalgia thing, though it usually works out better when all the principals return. But yeah, it's better to strike while the iron's still hot.
I wasn't even thinking about Ghostbusters! Sorry if you thought I was slagging them off, again. They were new enough for me to consider them new chapters. Yeah, the guys are there, but they are weighted towards the new cast.
Yeah, I mean in terms of legacy sequels outdoing their predecessors, that almost never happens. They can be entertaining, but the best you get is "close enough" and not exactly reinventing the wheel.
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