I enjoyed <em>Gladiator 2</em>, but was it as good as the original? Absolutely not. I feel like the movie had some major strong points in Acacius, Macrinus, and the twin emperors, but where it fell short was every aspect that it tried to mirror the original. In trying to repeat <em>Gladiator's </em>story, so much of the sequel ended up feeling contrived, particularly Lucius' character arc. Meanwhile, everything that was fresh and original turned out fantastic.
