4K ULTRA HD REVIEW / HDR SCREENSHOTS
(1) Lucius Verro (Paul Mescall) finishes an opponent in Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” the sequel to the Oscar-winning “Gladiator” (2000). (2) Denzel Washington steals the show as “puppet master” Macrinus. A former slave, he is powerful, rich and takes advantage of every situation.
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“GLADIATOR II”
4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray; 2024; R for violence & gore; Digital copy via Apple TV (4K) or Fandango Home (4K)
Best extra: “What We Do In Life, Echoes In Eternity: The Cast” featurette
EVER WATCH a movie and find yourself cheering for the bad guy? Orson Welles, as Harry Lime, showed us in “The Third Man.” Denzel Washington did it once as Alonzo Harris, a corrupt cop trusted with the training of a newcomer in “Training Day" (2001).
Twenty-five years later, Denzel does it again with a cast of terrific actors – Paul Mescall (“Normal People”), Pedro Pascal (“Game of Thrones,” The Last of Us,” The Mandalorian”), and Fred Hechinger (“Thelma”) and Joseph Quinn (“A Quiet Place: Day One,” “Stranger Things”) who play the evil but cheeky twin emperors Geta (Quinn) and Caracalla (Hechinger).
Connie Nielsen reprises her role as Lucilla from the original “Gladiator” (2000). Derek Jacobi also returns as Senator Gracchus, still leading the reformers who want Rome to return to its Republic origins. Everyone brings their A-Game to Producer/Director/Production Designer Ridley Scott. Even so, Denzel, who worked with Scott on “American Gangster” (2007), steals the show. Some hearts as well with bold mannerisms, wit, charm, physical strength and ability, and amazing costumes. He was nominated for a Golden Globe for the part. “It was just fun, the sword play … It’s kids’ stuff again … and they pay me!” Washington, says.
“[Denzel plays] an arms dealer who supplies food for the armies in Europe, supplies wine and oil, makes steel, makes spears, weapons, cannons, and catapults. So, he is a very wealthy man. Instead of having a stable of racehorses, he has a stable of gladiators,” Scott told Vanity Fair. “Denzel’s beautiful. He drives a golden Ferrari. I got Macrinus a gold-plated chariot.”
With Scott at the helm, how could “Gladiator II” not be a winner? It’s not as fresh or gripping as the original – an Oscar winner for Best Picture and Best Actor Russell Crowe. But Scott’s writers David Franzoni, Peter Craig, and David Scarpa, as well as cinematographer John Mathieson, keep those swords swinging. You will be entertained.
Roman Invasion
(1) Now called Hanno, the adult Lucius cares for his animals at the farm he shares with his wife in the North African kingdom of Numidia, his adopted home. (2) Lucius and his wife, warrior woman Arishat (Yuval Gonen). “Where you are, I am, too,” they tell each other. (3) Numidia prepares for invasion as the Roman fleet approaches. (4&5) The Romans firebomb the city from their ships. Built to scale, each ship was manned by 80-90 men each and driven across the sand on 50 wheels. Later, VFX filled in the ocean. Most of the fire effects in these scenes and others were real. (6) In a bonus feature, Pedro Pascal says, “General Acacius is a soldier, not a politician, and he’s been brutalized by invading innocent countries. He’s sick of it, but has no choice but to carry on.” (7&8) Roman military survey the vanquished city as Acacius turns away.
The story begins 16 years after “Gladiator,” where Lucius Verro (Mescal), now called Hanno, lives with his wife and extended family in the North African kingdom of Numidia. He has left everything of Rome behind him. “When you’re put out into the wilderness by your mother, you become a toughened entity,” Scott says in one of the six fine bonus features.
We watch that play out as Roman General Acacius (Pascal) leads his fleet in to capture Numidia as he has many other countries for Rome. It’s an amazing battle sequence, using a realistic blend of practical and CGI effects. The ships were built to scale, as was the Colosseum and other settings. “It’s huge. It’s Cecil B. DeMille on steroids,” Washington says. “Everywhere you turn you feel like you’re in that world.”
Lucius/Hanno’s wife is killed during the battle and he is taken to Rome with the survivors of his adopted country. He soon finds himself in the Colosseum, fighting a troop of hairless baboons. That’s where he captures the eye of handler Macrinus (Washington). The fight choreography is great, but the CGI briefly takes us out of the film. Other creatures, like the rhino and sharks, fare better. Scott makes great use of Rome’s history of pitting men against beasts in life-and-death combat. And yes – they filled the Colosseum with water to have naval battles. He tells us they frequently put eels in the water, but muses, “Why couldn’t there be sharks?”
“Gladiator II” has sharks.
Now a slave, Lucius allows his rage against Rome zero in on General Acacius, who is married to Lucius’ mother, Lucilla.
Lucius: “Rome has taken everything from me. But I will have my vengeance.”
Macrinus: “You have something in you. Rage. Never let it go. It will carry you to greatness.”
Sound familiar? It should to fans of the original “Gladiator,” and there’s more homage to come.
Yet by now, we know Lucius will follow in Maximus’ footsteps, become a gladiator and another savior of Rome.
“The first ‘Gladiator’ had such a huge impact across the world. We as a cast of actors, and Ridley, are aware of the legacy,” Mescall says. “It’s not without pressure, coming back to something that was so supremely successful.”
Lucius the Gladiator
(1&2) Lucius meets his first challenge in the Colosseum – a troop of vicious, drug-crazed baboons. The sequence used 12 stuntmen in black tights with short crutches to mimic ape movements. Later, effects supervisor Mark Bakowski used VFX to create the alopecia-affected creatures. (3) Macrinus is amused and impressed by Lucius’ skills in the arena. (4) Lucius prepares to take on his captors. (5) Macrinus puts Lucius’ skills on display at a dinner party. (5) The wildly insane Emperor Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) enjoys the games. (6) Connie Nielsen reprises her role as Lucilla, Lucius' mother, from the original “Gladiator.”
VIDEO
Scott reteams with British cinematographer John Mathieson. They previously worked together on “Hannibal,” “Matchstick Men,” “Kingdom of Heaven,” and “Robin Hood,” as well as the original “Gladiator,” which was shot on 35mm film, receiving an Oscar nod for its cinematography.
For over a decade, Scott has used digital cameras, this time the ARRI ALEXA Mini 4.5K (2.39:1 aspect ratio), mounted with a fast Panavision lens. Everything was mastered in TRUE 4K, including the numerous VFX shots.
The imagery has superb clarity, especially in Scott’s trademark wide-establishment shots. Plus, Scott dials the HDR contrast levels to the high side, with deep, dark blacks, showing plenty of detail, accentuating clouds and dust, and bright, controlled highlights. The earthy color palette is slightly desaturated, but overall, very cinematic.
We prefer the organic look and feel of natural film grain from the original “Gladiator.”
“[There is] a fair deal of variety in there,” Visual Effects Supervisor Mark Bakowski explains. “We’ve got creatures, we’ve got environments, we’ve got crowds, got effects and so on, so lots of different challenges … But probably the main thing is just working on a proper movie, something with real actors on real sets. Real stunts with real dust and real physicality to it … to me, yeah, that practical grounding is fantastic.”
Scott “storyboards the movie frame-by-frame months before shooting,” Producer Lucy Fisher says. “He has all the battle sequences in his head, and other sequences, too, all the big spectacles. He not only draws them himself, but also paints them himself.” The results look like an extensive graphic novel when finished.
Everything is encoded onto a 100 GB disc. The HDR10 peak brightness is 998 nits and averages 316 nits. The video bitrate varies from 50 Megabits per second to over 90 Mbps.
(1) Lucius and his fellow gladiators prepare for another battle in the arena. (2&3) The Colosseum is flooded with shark-filled water as gladiator-manned ships attack each other for the emperors’ and spectators’ amusement. (4) Macrinus warns the more stable Emperor Geta (Joseph Quinn) of trouble to come.
AUDIO
The 4K disc and Blu-ray both include the extremely active and powerful Dolby Atmos soundtrack. Bass response is deep at the right moments, and effects (swords, explosions, environmental sounds) bounce around the room from the front, ceiling, and back. Harry Gregson-Williams’ score is serviceable and nicely balanced, but not at the same lyrical quality Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard created 25 years ago.
“Those swords are bamboo, and therefore they’re quite light,” Scott says about complementing action with sound. “One of the problems is, when they fight, it’s too quick. I can usually digitally go in there and just slow them down a little bit, give weight to the sword. When the swords impact, then you get the ring of steel, so you’ve got power. But they still have to do the ballet of battle, and the ballet of battle is a refinement right up to that and stopping there and then recoiling. The recoil is as important as the impact.”
EXTRAS
Paramount provides five worthwhile bonus features featuring interviews with Scott, the cast and crew, as well as several deleted scenes. Find these on a separate Blu-ray disc. They’re all absorbing and a lot of fun.
There’s a behind-scene segment in the Colosseum where, after a take, Scott asks Pascal and Mescall, for a retake. Both are gasping for air, bloody (fake), and sweaty (real) under the blazing sun, “I hate you! I hate you both!” Pascal raves comically, while Scott and Mescall break up in laughter.
“I’m getting a little old for this level of sword fighting,” Pascal, who many first saw in “Game of Thrones,” says in a less harried moment. Particularly “one-on-one combat especially if they happen to be more than 20 years younger than you and a hell of a lot stronger.”
“A Dream that was Rome: Origins” introduces Scott, producers and cast members, who discuss how “Gladiator II” became a sequel. “What We Do in Life Echoes in Eternity,” provides interviews and anecdotes. “The Arena: Filmmakers” and cast discuss working on locations in Malta, Morocco and the U.K. “To Those About to Die, We Salute You: Combat” goes into the choreography of combat and how practical and CGI effects were combined for best effects. “Building an Empire: Post Production” is – wow! – spectacular. We get a look at the scale and detail Scott went into building the African and Roman cities, and the Colosseum. “The Making of Gladiator II,” explores how the sequel made it to the big screen.
Deleted scenes include "Cento Bears Mark of Fugitive," "Lucilla and the Emperors," "Fortuna and Lucius at the Party," "Lucilla Looks Out of the Window," "Macrinus Sees Acacius’ Statue," "Lucilla in the Crypt," "Fortuna Visits Lucius in His Cell," "Lucilla Mourns," "Ravi Hands Out the Keys" and "Macrinus Greets Caracalla."
(1&2) Lucius finds the hidden memorial to Maximus Decimus Meridius in the labyrinth beneath the arena. (3-6) In a bloody fight, Lucius faces the deposed General Acacius, now deemed a traitor. Emperors Caracalla and Geta cheer the outcome.
Costume designer Janty Yates, who won the Best Costume Design Oscar for “Gladiator,” returns. She is partnered with David Crossman to create the garb for Scott’s epic. Yates credits Crossman for handling “all the Praetorians, all the Numidians, all the Roman legions and all the gladiators.”
Yates, herself, took care of the glamor. “I’ve never seen a movie with more ravishingly ornate costumes,” producer Fisher tells us. Everything was made from scratch.
Lucius has to, more or less, wear the same costume throughout, Yates explains. Other characters are of the nobility or upper crust. “Both emperors wear ravishingly ornate costumes. Lucilla had 11 costume changes, maybe more.”
Scott viewed Lucilla’s couture-influenced garments and demanded, “More bling.” Yates obliged with extra trim, ancient embroidery, jewels and jewelry – “gold on gold, silver on silver,” she says. Macrinus’ costume for the Coliseum’s naval battle features gold bullion, embroidered by hand.
For the week ending March 8th,“Gladiator II” remained atop both the Blu-ray-only and overall packaged media charts in its second week. Ridley Scott's long-delayed sequel opened in November 2024 to broadly positive reviews and box office success, although with a shoot impacted by the 2023 Hollywood strikes and a reported budget of around $250 million or higher, the film's haul of over $172 million domestically and over $462 million globally likely means it underperformed at the box office. This week, Gladiator II had an HD share of 38%, with 38% of units sold from the 4K UHD format.
Perhaps the best thing about “Gladiator II” is it gave us a reason to go back to the movie theaters. While the film is available on streaming, the physical disc presentations are superior.
“It’s grand in scope, with sophisticated characters and storytelling,” Pascal says. “All the things that fill in the word ‘epic.’ From start to finish, it’s just a perfect movie.”
Get yourself the BIG popcorn.
— Kay Reynolds and Bill Kelley III, High-def Watch producer
(1) Macrinus displays the head of Emperor Geta to the Roman senate. Geta’s death leaves the maniacal Caracalla in charge … to a degree. (2) Macrinus smiles. It appears things are going his way. (3) But are they? (4) Lucius enters the arena to take part in a battle that will decide the fate of Rome.
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