Posted on 11/30/2024 5:21:09 PM PST by Rummyfan
On the subject of historical inaccuracies in his biopic Napoleon (2023), director Ridley Scott told the Times of London, “When I have issues with historians, I ask: ‘Excuse me, mate were you there? No? Well, shut the f*** up then.’” It’s the kind of thing you get to say if you’re making Gladiator (2000), a truly masterful revenge fantasy draped loosely over some half-remembered facts and figures from ancient Rome. Less so when you’re making Napoleon, a turgid and badly edited live-action Wikipedia entry shot in a color scheme I can only describe as mudscale.
Scott’s latest, Gladiator II, is somewhere in between the original Gladiator and Napoleon. It’s not so absurd that you can’t charitably suspend a little disbelief — OK, so they never put sharks in the Colosseum (that we know of), but it would have been hella metal if they did. Still, this sequel never rises near the level of greatness that makes you forgive and forget its liberties entirely. When a somber nobleman appears seated in an ancient Roman café (not a thing), reading the daily papers (also not a thing) like some Parisian dandy from the belle epoque, you start to think, Is this really worth the 30 bucks it costs in President Joe Biden’s America to watch sword fights in IMAX?
...The sequel contrives to set up basically the same template under the joint reign of brothers Geta and Caracalla (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger), whose conflicted general Acacius (Pedro Pascal) subdues the African city of Numidia. The beautiful Arishat (Yuval Gonen) dies implausibly in combat while her husband, Hanno (Paul Mescal), is taken captive. Then he must … fight his way through the ranks of gladiatorial combat to avenge the murder of his family.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
Could tell by the build-up promos.
A Nothing Burger...
PBD already told the plot, so, pass.
I won’t spoil it here, but if you want to know, go look at Valuetainment on YouTube.
I’ll wait for Redbox, or whatever replaces Redbox.
And Spencer Klavan... son of Andrew?
The Critical Drinker says give this one a pass unless you are really into poorly done remakes with good visual effects but a confusing and contradictory plot line.
I watched about ten minutes of it and gave up. I have seen Hallmark Christmas shows with higher production values and better character development.
Gladiator II
11/24/2024 10:16:14 AM PST · by Mean Daddy · 109 replies
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4280605/posts
Can Gladiator II save a genre — and a studio? It would be nearly impossible to compete with the original
07/09/2024 7:05:40 PM PDT · by SeekAndFind · 54 replies
The Spectator ^ | 07/09/2024 | Alexander Larman
https://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/4250043/posts
It looks too CGI-ish.
Turned down the chance to go see it last night. From everything I’ve read, I didn’t miss anything. Truth is I didn’t waste 2hrs and 28mins of my life.
i saw it Thanksgiving evening and yes it was too long but that Denzel was so good in this movie- you wouldn’t believe how cruel and vicious he is. The movie was a real treat. You should see for yourself. The CGI brought the glory of Rome back to life in all its splendor. The animatronics were deliciously gory!
What’s not to like?
Plot and script was not to like.
CGI and action was good.
It’s an action movie. The original was a historical drama.
You mean like the 2011 version of The Three Musketeers? Tried to watch it. Too much silliness, Kung fu sword fighting and CGIs in it.
Pulled out my old copy of the Gene Kelly version. Much better.
Movies for modern teen audiences are all stinkers.
Wish they would do a GOOD Gladiator movie on the Fidenae Gladiator arena disaster in 27 AD. 20 thousand to 50 thousand people killed.
I did not know about this till I read Tacitus years ago.
I just Googled it. I was thinking how in the world did they get 20,000 to 50,000 gladiators to fight in one arena. It appears the joke was on the spectators. The gladiators could sit back and watch them die in agony for a change.
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