Gladiator 2’s CGI sharks and monkeys were truly shocking

Gladiator II it surpassed its predecessor in sheer spectacle, but in doing so surprised viewers with the level of CGI used and some of the more disturbing bits relating to the animals involved in the arena. As the now-adult Lucius Verus fights in various locations throughout the Roman Empire, he finds himself involved in several different types of gladiatorial combat. Lucius takes part in everything from a naval battle in the Colosseum to a mini-battle against a pack of deadly baboons, all of which require some serious CGI to be adequately portrayed on the big screen.

That’s not unusual for a modern blockbuster, even one (loosely) rooted in historical fact from one of the masters of practical battle effects, Ridley Scott. However, as reports of an ever-increasing budget for Gladiator II released, it became reasonable to expect a lot of visual effects to have a hand in it. Some of the film’s most CGI-heavy scenes involved animals, and unfortunately, the CGI used ended up distracting for many viewers, especially after all the practical effects work that went along with it.

Why Gladiator 2’s Shark and Ape CGI Look Like This

The CGI is very distracting in the context of the scenes they are in

The notable example of distracting animal CGI in Gladiator II and Lucius’ battle against the horde of angry, hungry, and drugged baboons in Antium. The forced encounter was intended to be a test to see which group of captives Lucius came with had gladiatorial potential. Lucius shows his anger and strength in a fight with a particularly large male baboon, which included him fighting, biting, and strangling the animal. Obviously, Scott couldn’t use a real baboon in that scene, but the CGI version came out looking distractingly unfinished and almost otherworldly.

The sharks used in the Colosseum naval battle scenario suffered from a similar problem. Its movement through the water and its general appearance were anything but uniform and felt jarring against the largely practical clash of ships above them. Again, not using real sharks can certainly be forgiven, but making them look so blatantly computer-generated was jarring in the context of the rest of the film.

To be very clear, None of the problems were due to the visual effects workers’ lack of skill. With as much waiting time as Gladiator II had between the time it was first announced in development and its release, the lack of convincing CGI can almost certainly be attributed to poor planning, which seems to often plague big-budget Hollywood productions. This likely led to overwork and rushing by the talented visual effects team, who otherwise produced an incredible final product.

Gladiator 2’s shark and monkey fight scenes are still fun

CGI is a necessary evil to execute two important scenes

With all that said, the two scenes where the rushed CGI was most apparent are still important to the narrative, so they can also (and frankly should) be forgiven by all but the most discerning film critics. Lúcio’s fight against the baboons was crucial in establishing his character’s physical strength.and it also helped him express the anger that consumed him after his wife’s death. The sea battle sharks may not have been historically accurate, but they were necessary to explain the importance of the spectacle to the distraught Geta and Caracalla.

Most importantly, the scenes are still absolutely funCGI aside. The notion of gladiators fighting a troop of baboons and watching a muscular Paul Mescal fight and bite one is pure blockbuster magic, as is a naval battle staged in an arena with hungry sharks feasting on gladiators who fall into the sea. The CGI is certainly shocking, given how perfect the rest of the film is. Gladiator II feel about it, but it shouldn’t be something that really ruins the film for anyone.