Well, there were too many flashbacks to the first movie. It felt unnecessary, as though the studio heads felt the audience wouldn’t understand the story without those inserted scenes. The opening credits story illustrations were cleverly done though.

Having Lucius being revealed as Maximus’s son wasn’t a problem. It was Paramount’s trailer revealing this plot point that was a real spoiler.

I enjoyed viewing this movie in the theater and later on Paramount+. The character who I thought was a surprise was the actor Alexander Karim who had great chemistry with the lead actor. If there ever is a sequel, I hope he has a more screentime.

Jacob Elordi is an interesting choice to play the lead. But like the actor he replaced (Paul Mescal), he’s a young rising star who is becoming a director’s favorite. With these impressive ing actors, it should be a really good film.

I was surprised when I heard a sequel was being planned, after all these years. But when I heard Paul Mescal was in the lead, I was down for it. He’s an interesting talented actor, and I knew he was going to turn in a different type of performance. I was not disappointed, at all.

So much shade thrown at Paul Mescal who was interested in portraying a distinctly different character from Maximus, yet enough familial behavioral similarities that Lucilla would recognize her son.

I’ve sometimes wondered how movie studios actually recoup their production costs. The overly simplistic 2.5 time production costs quoted don’t often apply to a lot of movies. The small Hollywood movie costing $15 million to make can often spend more than their production costs on promotion and advertising. The large tentpole movies like Gladiator II is said to have received a record-setting $48 million in tax incentives from Malta for filming there. Movie studios reportedly receive 50-60% of domestic box office receipts, but only 20-30% of international box office. The rise of VOD is becoming a significant source of revenue at $19.99 a rental, with studios receiving about 80% of that. DVD and Bluray sales are becoming less significant profits, I’m guessing, but may be wrong on that. Then there are licensing rights to streaming services. I’d be curious how Paramount figures out its actual revenue from Gladiator II a year from now.

This was a very well done movie, with a story that thoughtfully interweaved with the original. The inclusion of Connie Nielson created the emotional center of the story, tying the past with the present. The production was impressive with amazing set designs. The action in the arenas was ferocious and quite over-the-top entertaining. Paul Mescal turned in a performance that was both impressively athletic and brutal, yet nuanced with scenes that felt heartbreaking. He really impresses me as one of the standout young actors of his generation. I felt there was much in this movie that could have been expanded upon, but had to be edited short for time. I hope to see an extended cut of this. I absolutely loved this movie

This was a very nice description of the failed coup d’ état attempt by Acacius and Lucilla. As an aside, the word “hate” seems a very strong word. It did describe what Lucius felt toward Acacius whom he felt responsible for his wife’s death. But he deeply resented his mother for what he felt was abandonment—never thought it was hate, though.

I thought this was a very excellent entertaining movie. Its high production costs made any profitability an uphill climb, but it has been grossing decent ticket sales. It does appear that it has boosted interest in the original 2000 movie as well. I will be purchasing the 4K disc of the sequel.

I agree with everyone’s comments here. And yes, his fight scenes were wild, feral, and muscular. But every time he started saying, “Where we are, death is not . . .” just made me cringe.