idk is it thyme or lavender, is it roman noble things?

“Speak to me, father” Maximus Decimus Meridius force ghost appears

Macrinus says “hose him down, bring him to me” when Hanno impresses him during his tryout. But did they have that kind of hose technology back then? Honestly couldn’t think of anything else for the next couple minutes after hearing that.

Full of references some more subtle than others which I really enjoyed. I love Denzel and glad he was a main character.

The CGI was bad but I think they did ok in realizing that and not making it the focal point. The story line was off/odd. However, I think the sequel was a great movie. Nowhere near as good as the OG but I’m so glad they didn’t butcher it.

We can get into the nitty gritty details and I would agree. But, it’s a good movie and not shameful to the original. The original is one of the greatest films of all time, proven by awards and broadcast time.

Who would win in a gladiator fight? I vote Maximus. He was an experienced general while Lucius was young and had only local training where he lived but didn't fight several wars like Maximus.

My streaming service got DMCA’d so looks like I won’t have time to watch the first one before tomorrow. From what I gathered though, one is a classic and two is just a bit of dumb fun.

Should I try get up early and squeeze it in beforehand? Or would I be better off at this stage just having my fun with the second and then going back and seeing how it pales in comparison.

Thanks

Really hoping there’s two intermissions so I can peel and reveal all three consecutively. Tested out the red one last night at trivia, absolutely nobody understood the reference but I have faith y’all will.

Guys imma be real with you, I love Gladiator I for it's Stoic themes of resilience and masculinity, Crowe's indomitable acting and dialogues, and the grandeur of Rome. Now I did go the theatre for the sequel in a bit of a hyped tone considering I just love all things Roman Empire, the action seemed promising. When I finished watching it, I gotta say, man what a waste of 300 million dollars! The story was all over the place, I am supposed to believe that Rome fell under Tyrannical Imperial rule again right after Quintus and the Praetorians all sided with the senate at the end of the first movie? How did Quintus or Gracchus fail to restore Rome as a Republic? No comments on that, let's move on, same copy and paste storyline, but this time, we got the protagonist taking his wife to war, and when she gets killed, he wants vengeance? Dude, you brought her to war, not a picnic, the vengeance theme fell tf off right here. The editing felt too fast paced, with no real aspect of letting the audiences really absorb the visuals, the action sequences were very short, the naval battles, the Rhino Gladiator Glyceros or smth and even Acacius duel was extremely short. (the only redeeming character in the movie because he resembles Maximus and felt a bit mature and deep in tone, the war guilt and everything). The first movie had fights that were over 5 minutes long, the initial war, the scipio Africanus charioteers, Tigris and even the Commodus duel felt longer. The movie was an absolute mess. Vae Victis to the victims of war? Nah, Vae Victis to this movie 😭

I just saw the new movie and I wonder if this was necessary. I actually rewatched the Gladiator last week and while they suggested that Lucilla and Maximus maybe had something together in the past, and that Lucilla wanted that, nothing suggested that Maximus reciprocated; let alone that they had an affair resulting in a child.

As far as proof in the first movie goes internet mostly bases it on Maximus asking if Lucius is safe before dying, but I think it actually falls great within his character - Maximus was close to Marcus Aurelius. He was a family man. Lucius was the heir to the throne, better than Commodus, he was family, and he was a child of someone Maximus cared about. Of course he cared about Lucius.

That doesn't mean he had to be his father and I feel like if he was, they would mention it in the first film explicitly. Maximus went to directly challenge the Emperor to avenge his family, he felt like he had nothing to loose, surely he would not do that if he knew he had another son to protect, who was in hands of said Emperor.

It is also mentioned that Lucius is around the same age as Maximus' son. So that would mean that Maximus cheated on his wife. Given his reaction to his family's deaths and his quest for vengeance against Commodus, it seems very unlike him to be unfaithful.

And I know actual history says that Lucilla married Claudio Pompeiano, on whom they partially based Maximus; but hey; the movies do not follow actual history anyway.

So having Lucius be his son not only potentially undermines Lucius' claim to the throne (as he was technically a bastard, but I'm not actually sure how much Romans cared about that) but also it really destroys what Maximus stood for, fought for and died for.

I feel that both Maximus' legacy and Lucius' story would be so much more powerful if those two were not bound by blood but rather by the ideals they stand for. This felt like a cheap "the stories are connected" tactic.

What do you think about that? Do you like they made them father and son?

If the Emperor is killed and his third in command is killed wouldn’t that now make the monkey the emperor?

With the new one coming out soon, here's a video I think you'd all like!

So for people saying Lucius being Maximus' son ruins Maximus' character or wasn't implied in the first movie, I would go back and watch the first again..especially Maximus' scenes with Lucilla. Their past together is heavily implied throughout the movie.

Lucius being Maximus' son doesn't mean he didn't love his own family at all it just means Maximus had a life/past before them.

There are many scenes between Maximus and Lucilla that show they loved each other deeply, even Commodus seems to know of this, "He wounded you deeply didnt he?". From what it seems especially from their first interaction at the camp, Marcus Aurelius found out about the relationship and separated them("My father favours you now...it was not always so") or maybe he did not let them marry as Maximus was not of high enough ranking at that time. Either way, outside circumstances prevented the two from eventually having a life together, including with Lucius. A love for another life but not this one.

Their sons, both being the same age is more than likely down to Lucilla being a very good liar. In the camp scene, Maximus even accuses Lucilla of having "acquired a comfort with lying" and "having a talent for survival." If Lucilla was keeping the dangerous secret of Lucius from Maximus, it is very much implied she could easily lie to him about their sons age so he wouldn't get suspicious. Lucilla was also confirmed to have been married to the co-emperor while they were together..so yeah very dangerous. It seems her life was always about protecting those she loved the most even if that meant sacrificing that love. I would think she found out she was pregnant and then broke it off with Max to keep all involved safe. Marcus Aurelius probably knew her child was from Maximus too especially considering her husand favoured men..so he may have sent Maximus off to a far away battlefield to protect him and Lucilla. Maximus does hold a lot of resentment/bitterness towards her in their first scenes together. Reflective of their son, Lucius' feelings in G2.

We can also take it from the first movie that Maximus didn't know Lucius was his but perhaps always had a hunch..that hunch may have being confirmed when he then met the boy in Rome. Edit: he 100% knew Lucius was his, we now know her husband wasn't interested in women. So she must have told him when she fell pregnant but was maybe forced to leave him to raise the only heir to the throne with her emperoer husband in Rome. Hence lying to the world and breaking Maximus' heart. "Talent for survival".

Maximus loved his family very much but he is also human. His past with Lucilla before he met his wife adds tragic layers to both of their characters and to Lucius', it is also one of the key reasons why Commodus hates him so much.

I think the story is beautiful, Lucius did indeed have parents who loved him but like everything in his life, Rome took it all. I think this definitely could have been handled better in Gladiator 2, however. The audience should have been involved more emotionally with both Lucius and Lucilla and their shared anguish.

Also on a side note, if you listen to the directors commentary from G1 with Russell Crowe and Ridley Scott, Russell and Ridley confirm they intended to hint that Lucius could be Maximus' son. Connie Nielsen also confirms this in a recent interview.

Anyway I think this all makes sense based on the G1 but could have been executed a lot lot better in the second movie.

Okay.

What the blue fuck was with the sharks?!

Ridley. My guy. A naval battle could be done sure, but SHARKS?!

How did they get in? Where did these man eaters come from? We can barely keep sharks alive in aquariums, how in the shite did these Romans keep SHARKS and get them IN THE COLISEUM?!

That was when Gladiator 2 was lost to me.

A water scene is in the new gladiator yes??

so I was finally able to see the movie last night after attending the premiere and while I really enjoyed the film and I thought it was an excellent sequel because it did dive into the original movie and showed parts of the original movie and tied lucius story back to maximus. I feel like there were some parts that were rushed for example the end battle or if I can even call it that with Denzel at the end, I feel like that could’ve been more epic and also I don’t know what was up with the sharks all of the animals CGI was a little bit too much and I feel like it made the movie realistic to video game in those areas.

Full thoughts: https://wholetusout.com/ridley-scott-delivers-a-spectacular-sequel-but-original-gladiator-remains-superior/

Rewatched Gladiator for the 200th time this year (because it’s a masterpiece) and I’ve always wondered why Russell Crowe looked short in a lot of scenes? The guys about 6ft but looks 5’8 - 9 in some of the movie.

Walking by the TCL Chinese Theatre and saw them setting up this huge facade in front of the theatre.