Order your 4k Steelbook from Amazon
Order your standard 4k from Amazon
From legendary director Ridley Scott, Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people. – synopsis via Paramount Pictures
Ridley Scott has returned to direct GLADIATOR II based on the screenplay of David Scarpa. It is the direct sequel to the 2000 film with an almost 25 gap between films. There were plans a few years after for a sequel but the leading story never got off of the ground. Fast-forward to several years ago and Scott got the itch.
Straight off, this movie has some pretty big shoes to fill. GLADIATOR is a cinema classic and won 5 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe. Names like Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, or Spencer Treat (not much of a draw) aren’t here but does have Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal.
On a side note, I now understand how Paul Mescal was cast (watch the extra on the release) but I do still wonder if Treat was even approached.
I also want to mention the outstanding costume and set design. An example of the costumes is the wealthy in Rome have clean, white robes with shimmering gold and the design looks authentic. I’m not an expert but the people from the impoverished to the rich, including soldiers and gladiators look the part.
Cast
Paul Mescal as Lucius
Pedro Pascal as General Acacius
Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta
Fred Hechinger as Emperor Caracalla
Connie Nielsen as Lucilla
Denzel Washington as Macrinus
VIDEO QUALITY 4.5/5
The video is a 2160p HEVC presentation with Dolby Vision. The first thing that is noticed, the tone of the film has that old-world look. The coloring is mostly drab and dusty in the North African scenes with a slight shift in Rome. Once there, the rich colors such as the purples and reds in the various decorations pop. The images are crisp and the details are sharp. Practically everything that is filmed has great-looking textures. Dust doesn’t tend to blur the images or make them muddled. There are solid make-up effects that look realistic on screen. The skin tones are natural and warm.
AUDIO QUALITY 5/5
The audio is a Dolby Atmos mix that defaults to a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mix depending on your equipment. The audio design and sweeping sound movement are impressive. Because of the layout of the period, there are open areas like the palace that have a strong sound reverberation. This also goes for the vastness of the Colosseum. During the games, the experience is quite immersive. The roar of the crowd, the animals, and the fighting gladiators mesh well. The dialogue is well-prioritized.
SUPPLEMENTS & PACKAGING 3.5/5
There is a standalone Blu-ray that houses all of the special features. There are no special features on either movie disc.
-A Dream that was Rome: Origins: This looks at the 23-ish-year journey to the sequel.
-What we do in life, echoes in eternity: The Cast: This extra shows how Ridley Scott chose the cast in his storyboards before approaching the film.
-In the arena: Filmmakers: This has the cast and crew discussing the people behind the camera’s importance.
-To those about to die, we salute you: Combat: This shows the process of creating the combat and training for the action scenes in the movie.
-Building an empire: Post-production: This extra is about the people who bring it all together for the screen.
-The Making of GLADIATOR II: From production designing the casting to creating the movie to come together as a whole, this is with the various filmmakers, cast, and crew on how they were able to put this together to go from what would be 120-day production down to a 50-day production.
-Deleted Scenes
Disc Details
3-Disc Steelbook Set w/1 4k UHD and 2 Blu-rays
Digital Copy
Steelbook Case
Running Time
148 mins
Edition Ratings
Rated R
Region Coding
Region Free
4k UHD
Video Resolution
2160p HEVC / H.265
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
HDR
Dolby Vision
HDR10
Audio Mixes
English Dolby Atmos
English Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Subtitles
English
English SDH
French
Spanish
Blu-ray
Video Resolution
1080p AVC MPEG-4
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Audio Mixes
English Dolby Atmos
English Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Subtitles
English
English SDH
French
Spanish
THE FINAL WORD 4/5
When it was first announced, the reception was very mixed because the first installment did very well on its own. After watching this twice, I do enjoy this sequel but more as just a film about a tumultuous time in Roman history. If this was a standalone gladiator movie with ways to separate itself from the other story, people might not have been as critical.
The acting and action are very good but the set and costume design are superb. There are notably talented people involved in the film but the shadow of the original loomed over every aspect of the movie. As for the release, the video has a strong clarity that shows the format. The immersive audio also has a strong showing on the release and brings things to life. One of the best examples of exemplary sound design is the insane ships in one of the Coliseum fight scenes.
The extras have a lot of good information about all aspects of this movie production. It is broken down in easy to consume parts.
Honestly, Paramount Pictures tends to excel in authoring 4k releases and this doesn’t disappoint. Even if you aren’t a fan, the technical side of the release is worth owning.
Bad Habit Online 