24 years ago, filmmaker Ridley Scott tackled his first Roman epic with Gladiator, a movie that won five Oscars, including Best Picture and an Oscar for Russell Crowe for his performance as Roman General turned gladiator, Maximus.
Few people thought we’d ever see the sequel that’s been bandied about ever since those Oscar wins, but Ridley Scott finally has returned to Rome for a movie that follows Maximus’ son Lucius, now played by Paul Mescal (Aftersun) who swears to get revenge on the current Roman General, Marcus Acacius, after his wife is killed. To do so, Lucius takes on the guise of a warrior to fight in the games being held by Rome’s current emperors, twin brothers Geta and Caracalla, played by Joseph Quinn (A Quiet Place Day One) and Fred Hechinger (Thelma). Denzel Washington also takes on a new role as Macrinus, who is in charge of the gladiators, while both Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi are returning actors from the 2000 Gladiator.
Cinema Daily US critics Matthew Schuchman and Edward Douglas battle it out over whether Ridley Scott’s return to Rome is worth your time and money.
Film Critic : Matthew Schuchman
In the early 90s, while at the video store with his friends who wanted to rent Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead, Matthew asked the clerk if they had any copies of Naked Lunch available. A film buff from an early age, he would turn his fascination into his own review site in 2010; Movie Review from Gene Shalit’s Moustache. From there, he provided his voice to such publications as Den of Geek, Coming Soon, and Verbicide Magazine as a film reviewer and talent interviewer.
Film Critic : Edward Douglas
Edward Douglas has been writing about movies for over 20 years. 13 of those years were at ComingSoon.net, followed by writing for outlets such as Film Journal, Den of Geek, The New York Daily News, Gold Derby, Below the Line, and many more.
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Director: Ridley Scott
Screenwriter: David Scarpa
Cast: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Connie Nielsen, Rory McCann, Matt Lucas, Tim McInnerny
Producer: Ridley Scott, Douglas Wick, Michael Pruss, Lucy Fisher, David Franzoni
Production Co: Scott Free Productions, Red Wagon Films
Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Rating: R (Strong Bloody Violence)
Genre: Action, Drama
Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): November 22, 2024
Runtime: 2 hours, 28 minutes
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