New Delhi, India
It's Gladiator Day! After a long wait of years, the enchanting ancient world of Gladiator is back with a new character and a gripping story.
The much-awaited Ridley Scott film has finally been released in the cinema and as per early reactions, the audience and critics have once again fallen in love with the Roman world.
About Gladiator II's release
After a wait of 24 years, the second part of the thrilling masterpiece has been released, and the audience has high expectations for the movie.
The sequel to the iconic movie focuses on the life of grown-up Lucius, played by actor Paul Mescal. For the unversed, the movie is set years after the death of Maximus (Played by Russell Crowe).
The official synopsis for the movie reads, "Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people."
Apart from Mescal, the movie stars Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, Nielsen, and Denzel Washington.
First Reactions
The iconic movie is out in the theatres and the moviegoers were quick to watch the 'first day, first show', and much like the critics, the audience has also showered praise on Scott's prolific work. With a perfect scoop of nostalgia, the audience loved the stellar cast, brilliant score and gripping storyline.
Praising the movie, one X user wrote, "Absolutely loved #Gladiator2 ! It seamlessly continues the story without nostalgia bait! With a stellar cast, brilliant score, stunning costume & beautiful directing, I was hooked from opening scene till the very last credit! Mescal & Washington shine!A favourite of the year!"
GLADIATOR II: had an absolute blast with this. Bloody, violent and super entertaining follow-up to the first with solid performances, particularly a scene stealing Denzel Washington, awesome action and visuals, and a great score over it. Ridley Scott's still got it! #GladiatorII pic.twitter.com/tsHdKIBhVZ
— Shaurya Chawla (@_ShauryaChawla) November 8, 2024
Another user wrote, “#Gladiator2 is EPIC. Not much has kept me this entertained, and left me this energized in a while. A spectacle through and through meant for @IMAXPerformances are top notch as expected, and the action is just beyond anything else this year. Ridley Scott is truly back!”
#GladiatorII es la secuela que todos esperábamos, espectacular, enorme, muy gore y no solo brilla el entretenimiento, la narrativa con sus momentos clímax en respectivos personajes son clave para contar una historia diferente de su predecesora.
Mi Crítica https://t.co/N3wMl3F77c pic.twitter.com/ZalkOjmzmy
— SitoCinema (@SitoCinema) November 13, 2024
Just out of #Gladiator2
Felt the film suffered from a lot of legacy sequel issues early on with it leaning heavily into member berries. Lots of repeated lines and locations from the first film that made it initially a bit repetitive.
HOWEVER.
There comes a big point where… pic.twitter.com/GpzKmtiI6k
— Heavy Spoilers (@heavyspoilers) November 13, 2024
GLADIATOR 2 is Hamlet as a Roman political opera, a brutal bloody battle of power and corruption with performances possessing an emotional weight of movie stardom. I can't believe Ridley pulled this off and its one of the few modern blockbusters that actually looks GOOD visually. pic.twitter.com/DOr96n62AW
— Jillian? (@JillianChili) October 19, 2024