Gladiator II

For all its faults, Gladiator II is an extraordinary film, the kind that demands to be seen in theaters.

In a cast of veteran actors and extremely talented up-and-comers, Washington steals the movie. He takes the throne.

Fast, brutal and absorbing, the shocker opener sets the template for the rest of the movie, which plays — and often feels — like one long, inventively diverse, elaborately imaginative fight.

Paul Mescal just seems overwhelmed. At a lot of points, this film winds up feeling like an echo of the first film.

This movie belongs to Denzel Washington. It was campier than the first one, and consequently I liked it better.

It's Washington who ultimately makes "Gladiator II" stand apart from the first film and makes it a lot more fun than it has any right to be.

Watching Gladiator II, it is hard not to be a little suspicious about exactly what we are longing for in our Roman fantasies.

Paul Mescal delivers a primal, combustible performance in this disappointing sequel from Ridley Scott. Denzel chews a colosseum's worth of scenery that almost saves this uninspired rehash of 2000's GLADIATOR with terrible CGI and a flat finale....almost.

Gladiator II is a great watch for anyone who hasn't watched the first part. This one is grander, more spectacular, and even more visceral than the first one, turning it up by a few notches in every department.

It’s telling that it takes two actors, Quinn and Hechinger, to approximate the levels of insanity and menace that Phoenix achieved all by himself. And Mescal … doesn’t bring the same brooding charisma that Crowe had in abundance.