5 days Ago By Ashephard
FILM director Sir Ridley Scott has already started working on a third Gladiator movie. His revelation comes days after the release of the sequel — and 24 years after the original. Sir Ridley, 86, said he had “already written 12 pages” of the next script.
The British filmmaker, known for classics such as Alien and Blade Runner, has always enjoyed doodling and sketching and storyboards his movies in detail. Asked if he had started sketching scenes for the third film , he said: “Yes!” Gladiator II came out in cinemas on Friday. It stars Irishman Paul Mescal in the title role.
READ MORE ON GLADIATOR II He plays Lucius — the son of Russell Crowe’s Maximus Decimus Meridius from the first film. Hollywood’s Russell Crowe won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of the Roman general-turned gladiator in the 2000 epic. A HOTLY anticipated sequel film can feel a little like queuing for a rollercoaster.
There’s the nerves that it won’t be as good as the first time you rode it, the feeling that perhaps you shouldn’t even get on in case you want to get off straight away — and the adrenaline the moment it starts. This is exactly how I felt building up to seeing the long-awaited Gladiator II — released 24 years after the original. With Sir Ridley Scott once again directing the Colosseum extravaganza, could it possibly be as good as his first Roman spectacular? Well, it’s not.
But, boy, does it put up a good fight. In Gladiator world, it’s 16 years since the demise of Maximus (Russell Crowe, who features in flashbacks to the original). This is the story of Lucius (a beefed up Paul Mescal who having witnessed the death of his slave-turned-Gladiator dad is sent away to Africa, where as an adult he fights for his freedom.
During this unsuccessful attempt, his wife is killed by Marcus (Pedro Pascal) and he is dragged to Rome where he is picked to fight in front of the skin-crawling young emperors and brothers Caracalla and Geta under the teachings of Macrinus (Denzel Washington) And he makes a damn fine job of keeping them entertained — by fighting giant monkeys, rhinos and even sharks after the Romans managed to fill a colosseum with sea water and Great Whites. There’s plenty you have to laugh off watching this mad yet somehow majestic film — with some ropey dialogue and a glaring continuity issue straight after Mescal bites a CGI monster monkey that makes you concerned about who Sir Ridley is hiring. But Denzel Washington is the gem here, playing the best baddie in years.
Like a Roman version of Othello’s Iago, he mostly seems to want to disrupt things just for s**ts and giggles. Mescal’s acting energy is mostly saved for his fight sequences, where he steps out of being that sultry guy from Normal People and into leading man shoes. And there’s a smattering of Brit stars to watch out for, including Matt Lucas and Sir Derek Jacobi.
Yes, its camp and sometimes ridiculous. But this adrenaline-pumping film will have your heart racing. I’d certainly queue up again for another ride.
By Dulcie Pearce.
