Should've Been Better, But I Liked It

 

I wouldn't call myself a huge fan of the original Gladiator. I won't deny that it's a good movie, but me and my family only care about the first one now because we're probably Denzel Washington's biggest fans. So obviously we had to watch the first one in order to prepare for the second one. So Paul Mescal is pissed off when a bunch of idiots lead by Pedro Pascal kill his wife and now wants vengeance. Then Denzel comes in a promises to get him there. Oh and Russell Crowe's character is his daddy.

I liked it, I really did. It was brutal, and it was entertaining (no I'm not making a reference to the original). The best part about the movie no doubt was the fight scenes. Every single one of them were AWESOME and well choregraphed. I loved all of them so much! The performances were amazing. The ones that stood out the most for me was Denzel (of course) and the twins (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger). The twins genuinely freaked me out; Quinn was a total psychopath, and Hechinger has the brain of a 3-year-old. They weren't better than Joaquin Phoenix, but they were memorable enough. But as psycho as they were, Denzel played those morons (and pretty much everybody) like a board game! This man took a masterclass in manipulation, and in no time had almost everyone under his command. It was INSANE, and only Denzel could make such a slimey unlikeable character so charming at the same time. Because he's just that awesome. Also, Paul Mescal's character needs therapy.     

Negative; obviously the biggest flaw about this movie is that it's the same story as the original. Adding different characters didn't make any difference. It's not as problematic as Moana 2, but it is still an issue. A lot of people are also complaining about the historical accuracy, but I personally don't know enough about gladiator times to care.

I wouldn't say this is better than the first movie and it's likely this film should've been way better than it was. But at the same time, this was far from a disappointment and I enjoyed this movie a lot. Thanks for reading.