Are you not entertained by the Gladiator II trailer?!
Well, apparently not, since a number of people don’t seem to be happy about it, as it’s been getting review bombed as of late. But that makes me wonder: did we see different trailers or something? Because I think Gladiator II looks awesome.
Now, granted, I’m not a huge fan of the original movie. For example, I’ve seen every movie to win the top prize at the Oscars , and I definitely wouldn’t consider Gladiator as being one of the greatest Best Picture winners (much like my colleague, Philip Sledge, believes, one of the worst things about that movie is the pacing, as it can be quite “cumbersome.”) But, man. The trailer for Gladiator II gets me so pumped, and I have four specific reasons why.
This Gladiator Looks Much More Like An Action Movie Than The First One
I’ve been checking out all of the upcoming movies for 2024, and honestly, I'm not particularly impressed by what's ahead. I don’t want to put any of the flicks down, but when it comes to action films (which is one of my favorite genres), I honestly think 2023 had a much more impressive year than what it looks like we’re getting for 2024.
But then I saw the Gladiator II trailer, and my heart started racing. A lot of people really love the first Gladiator, and they think it’s an excellent action movie...but is it? Is it really? Because I never felt that way about it. In fact, I always found it to be pretty slow. That said, I thought the action was a huge juxtaposition, since I always feel it by itself moves too fast. And, I mean really fast. Like, sometimes I can't even make out what’s going on.
Take for example the fight against the undefeated gladiator with the tigers. Yes, there are moments that are very clear, but sometimes it moves too quickly for me, and my eyes can’t keep up. Besides, the first movie isn’t really meant to be an action picture; it’s a historical drama.
But Gladiator II – judging by the trailer, anyway – looks to have a lot more action in it. I’ll get into some of what makes it look so epic in a few, but this preview makes the movie look like it will be much more action-packed than the original, and I’m all for it.
It Also Looks So Much More Epic Than The Original
As we talked about in our article on things we know about Gladiator II, we discussed the water battles and the man fighting atop a rhino that we got to see in the trailer, and oh my God. Could this movie be any more epic?
Even though there are battles in the original movie, they mostly took place within the Colosseum, which worked for that movie since it was all about a gladiator.
But this movie, which takes place years after the original, seems to take things to a whole other level, staging the kind of massive battles that we didn’t get to see in the first film. And you know what? I’m all for it. I love when Ridley Scott stages massive battles like he did with Kingdom of Heaven, and this new movie looks to be incorporating that sweeping scale.
Judging by the real-life emperors, Caracalla and Geta (Played by Fred Hechinger, and Joseph Quinn, respectively), who are in this movie, the epoch is apparently in a time when Rome wasn’t in the best of spots. So, this could lead to a very interesting historical retelling in this movie, and I’m pumped to see it in all of its glorious splendor.
Denzel Washington Is In Full Swagger Mode
One thing people really don’t seem to like about this new trailer is the Jay-Z and Kanye West song “No Church in the Wild” that accompanies it – with one person even going so far as to re-edit the trailer with a song from the original movie. And okay, sure, I get it. Hearing Jay-Z and Kanye West in the trailer is a bit jarring. So, no, I’m not really a fan of that, either.
However, one thing that I just can’t abide by is people being upset over Denzel Washington’s performance as featured in the trailer, with some people believing that he just doesn’t fit into a story like this. All I have to say is: A) Denzel Washington fits into every story he’s put in, and B) see my first point.
But in all seriousness, when we learned that Denzel Washington would be reuniting with Ridley Scott for this movie, my initial thought was confusion as well. Back in 2023, I wasn’t sure of what role Denzel Washington was going to play, and a part of me was worried that he would be portraying a slave or something, which I genuinely didn’t want to see. That said, when I saw him smiling and emitting swagger by the bucket loads in this new trailer, a smile crept on my face.
This is the complete opposite of a slave. This is a man with power, and somebody who looks to be pulling the strings behind the curtains. Sure, a lot of people don’t like the “historical inaccuracy” of how Washington kind of seems like he’s been transplanted out of the present and dropped into the past with the way he’s talking, but I’m totally digging it. Besides, I’ve never seen a Denzel Washington performance that I didn’t like. Have you?
I Also Love Ridley Scott's Historical Films, And This One Actually Looks Like A Fun One
I’m a huge fan of Ridley Scott’s historical pictures. Hell, I even love them more than his sci-fi flicks. Even though I’m not a massive fan of Gladiator, I do enjoy his other historical movies like The Duelists, Kingdom of Heaven, and the vastly underappreciated The Last Duel.
Even though I deeply appreciate all of Ridley Scott’s historical pictures (Yes, even Exodus: Gods and Kings), I will also be the first to admit that some of these movies can be rather slow (again, see: the original Gladiator).
However, this trailer for Gladiator II looks like one of the “fun” Ridley Scott historical dramas. Fun is very subjective, and a lot of people likely wouldn’t consider The Last Duel as being “fun,” given the subject matter. But I do consider some of Ridley Scott’s historical dramas to be more enjoyable than others, and the Gladiator II trailer suggests this will be one of the fun ones.
Yes, I was just ragging on the weird song choice not too long ago. But something about that song really lends itself to the overall feeling I get from this trailer, which is something that doesn’t seem as somber as the original. That credit goes more to the people who cut the trailer together, but even Joseph Quinn looks to be putting on a wild performance, and I just can’t wait to see it.
For more news on all things Gladiator II-related, be sure to swing by here often, and mark your calendars for its big screen release on November 22.
