I greatly enjoy Ridley Scott films, he’s an incredible technical director, even when his films aren’t as emotionally captivating as I would like, there’s always something masterful about his creations.

Gladiator II is no different. The first film resonated and struck a chord with filmgoers everywhere. It’s no surprise that the idea of a sequel was knocked about for quite sometime. Finally a story came along that Scott wanted to tell, and so he took audiences back to ancient Rome.

We join Hanno (Paul Mescal) in Numidia. He and his wife, and the city prepare for the imminent arrival of a Roman attack force led by General Acacius (Pedro Pascal). When she is killed, Hanno is set on revenge, but finds himself captured by Roman forces.

And so begins his journey from slave to gladiator…

He is taken to Rome, bought by Macrinus (Denzel Washington), and prepared to fight in the arena. Hanno sees it as a way to revenge himself upon Acacius. Acacius, however, is having doubts about his actions in service to the twin emperors, Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger).

He wishes to restore the dream of Rome, as imagined by the father of the woman he loves, Lucilla (Connie Nielsen).

Seeing the events in the arena, Lucilla is stunned to realize that Hanno is actually Lucius, her son, who she sent away to keep safe, and has now been brought back to Rome to fight.

There are reveals, given away in the trailer, and some stunning sequences, though a little too heavy on the visual effects. Though I realize we wouldn’t be able to see Rome at all without the help of VFX.

There are politics at play throughout the film, great fights, and some fantastic technical work. But as accomplished as Mescal is as an actor, he doesn’t have, at this time, the onscreen presence to carry a film like this. His speeches which are meant to rouse and lead stirs nothing within me, and I couldn’t get into his performance at all.

There are some moments he has which really work, but overall, his performance just didn’t engage me. Especially when those around him seem to be really giving their all. Washington’s Macrinus is just damned manipulative throughout. Pascal is always wonderful, Nielsen is amazing, and the twin emperors, are horrifying in their corruption and disregard of anything but their desires.

It is not a horrible film, and visually, it honors what came before it, but it is not Gladiator. It doesn’t have the drive. But it is gorgeous.