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.

Paul Mescal brings plenty of intensity to the role of Lucius, but he ultimately pales in comparison to Russell Crowe’s towering performance in the original.

There are hints of what Gladiator II could have been in the more intimate scenes between star Paul Mescal and Connie Nielsen–thanks to the actors, not the leaden script which insists on keeping their relationship as black and white as possible.

Once free to enjoy the sequel on its own merits, it is easy to find a smart, deliberately excessive Hollywood blockbuster with its own elaborate, idiosyncratic style and appeal.

While Gladiator II operates in the shadow of its predecessor, it isn’t exactly a carbon copy.