Spoiler alert, I was entertained. This film is action packed, full of amazing performances, jaw dropping spectacle and ultimately builds on the legacy of the original without feeling like it was pandering too heavily into nostalgia territory. 

From its opening moments it proves that this is not the first film. The scale is much grander and the story features many more characters. Ridley Scott has been on a bit of a hit or miss run lately, and in my mind this is one of his biggest hits. The movie works for me on every level, from its leave nothing to the imagination action to its slow building yet ever evolving plot you will be left wanting more at every turn, and they will deliver.

This being Paul Mescal’s entry into blockbuster territory feels very fitting and he absolutely nails his role. I wouldn’t say it’s nearly as strong as his performances in films like “All of Us Strangers” or “Aftersun,” but he definitely does the most with what he was given.

It’s hard to talk about this movie without talking about the cast. It was packed with big names like Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn and Denzel Washington. Specifically Washington’s character was so fascinating because of the depth the character has behind his choices and actions. He is so flashy and you can tell how much fun he had with this role. 

Scott does a great job of capturing the gladiator action and it felt like each action set felt different from the others. Not only did the action scenes vary, it felt that each moment we got to the coliseum there was a different emotional hook to make it much more cohesive on a plot level. 

The only thing going against this movie is that it is following up an extremely classic film. However I think it does so successfully. The action backed up with the political drama side of the film does a good job of showing you the power vacuum of the Roman Empire that the first movie ends with. This is absolutely a worthy successor to the movie before it.