The Gladiator sequel starring Ridley Scott has released a trailer that features multiple action-packed scenes, such as Paul Mescal getting plowed by a rhino and a water battle in Rome’s Colosseum.
Mescal, who starred in All of Us Strangers, portrays Lucius, a gladiator who is battling for his life despite his high status as the corrupt nephew of former Emperor Commodus.
Russell Crowe played soldier-turned-gladiator Maximus in Sir Ridley’s 2000 debut picture, which took home five Oscars, including best actor.
In the first scene of the trailer, Lucius remembers fighting his uncle in the arena as a little boy, against the former Roman commander Maximus.
“I recall that day. Lucius remarks, “I never forgot that a slave could take revenge against an emperor,” just before we show him being taken by his mother to safety in a flashback from the first movie.
This is a brief synopsis of the first Gladiator movie: Maximus Decimus Meridius, an honorable Roman general, is the main character of the story. He was requested to succeed the sick Marcus Aurelius as emperor.
However, Commodus killed Maximus’ family and left him a slave after seizing the throne and murdering the emperor. Maximus became a gladiator and went back to Rome to have his retribution.
Gladiatorial competitions, where up to 50,000 spectators witnessed “contests which were literally a matter of life and death,” are described as “bloody entertainment… an opportunity for emperors to display their wealth” by the World History Encyclopedia.
In several fight scenes, there were wild animals present. For example, in Gladiator, there were tigers in the arena, and in the sequel, Mescal is attacked by an enraged rhino with a bloodied horn.
It’s safe to say that fans of Crowe’s stirring portrayal of Maximus were enthralled with the previous movie.
Undoubtedly, Lucius is similar to the honorable Maximus in that he fights from below but has a much higher goal.
In the follow-up, Lucius has been taken prisoner and taken from his remote house to Rome.
He turns into a gladiator and works for Denzel Washington’s character, Macrinus, who supports combatants in a manner akin to Oliver Reed’s Proximo in the first movie.
In order to defend his birthright, Lucius says he has no idea where he was born and that he has never known a mother or father.
“You’ll be my tool,” Macrinus answers.
The current twin emperors, portrayed by Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn, seem to be corrupt as well. They laugh demonic laughter as gladiators perish in their water fight rigged simulation (which actually happened in real life).
We don’t know if Lucius’s mother, Lucilla, who was also portrayed by Connie Nielsen in the first movie, recognizes her son as he battles underneath her, but she watches in fear.
But as he passes away, she gives him a ring that belonged to the Roman general, bringing him full circle and back to Maximus.
Similar to the original, the movie seems to be about the corruption of authority, with heroic, troubled people opposing the might of Rome’s governing class.
While Pedro Pascal’s character in The Last of Us, Marcus Acacius, another Roman general, declares, “I will not waste another generation of young men for their vanity,” alongside video of the emperors, Lucius favors “strength and honor.”
We don’t fully understand Pascal’s morality because we don’t know enough about him yet.
As the trailer closes, Mescal and Pascal are engaged in combat in the arena. The gladiator appears to be winning because he has two swords crossed over the army general’s neck.
People’s first reactions to X were mixed, with some expressing excitement for the sequel and others claiming it wouldn’t live up to the original.
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In the aquatic fight, some spectators saw what appeared to be sharks. Filmmaker Kyle Prohaska commented, “I’m all in on Gladiator II.” Just a few of those crazy scenes will do for me. Are there sharks in the arena? A rhinoceros? Denzel? Come on. Although this is undoubtedly one of those sequels that no one requested, it nevertheless looks better than most.”
The user @FilmmakerJeff described the trailer as “underwhelming” in another post.
“I hate to report that I’m not a fan of the Gladiator II trailer,” stated the actor.
“Awful choice of music; nothing about it convinced me that it could match the original’s quality, and to be honest, it seems like it could be at most passable. My excitement level decreased.”
On social media, there was discord on the soundtrack, which featured Jay-Z and Kanye West’s song “No Church in the Wild.”
SOUECE : BBC NEWS
