Gladiator II is being cruelly dismantled by historians before the film is even released. The film is a long-awaited sequel to Ridley Scott’s historical epic Gladiatorwhich was originally released in 2000. Its story revolves around Lucius, the son of Russell Crowe’s former character Maximus, who died at the end of the first film. Gladiator II features a talented main cast including Pedro Pascal, Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn. The release is scheduled for November 22nd.
A week before the film had a chance to be released, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that historians are already criticizing the content Gladiator II. The review includes words from classical professors like Dr. Shadi Bartsch of the University of Chicago, who called the film “Total Hollywood bullshit.” The professor also pointed out a major inaccuracy involving a Roman reading the newspaper while drinking tea in a cafe. Bartsch pointed out that they had “daily news“but it was carved in stone, and so were the Romans”there were no cafes.”
What these complaints mean for Gladiator II
This could hurt Gladiator II’s box office chances
Since the film has not yet been released, these historical claims were protected only against the Gladiator II trailers and other early clips. The fact that Bartsch was able to extract such glaring inaccuracies based on this content alone does not bode well for the completed film. With a run time of almost 2.5 hours, Gladiator II has plenty of time to maintain its historic moments. If even the initial glimpses aren’t accurate, it’s unlikely that Scott made a historically accurate film.
This could be a harbinger of doom for Gladiator IIbox office. Made with a huge budget estimated at between US$165 million and US$300 million, Gladiator II is one of the most expensive films of the year. As such, it will have to achieve huge box office returns to recoup its production costs on its own. It already faces a box office battle against Evil during its opening weekend, and the movie musical ranked above it in some predictive polls. If word of mouth spreads news about historical inaccuracies, it could harm Gladiator IIbox office.
Our take on Gladiator II’s inaccuracies
These inaccuracies seem glaring
Scott has been known for having historical inaccuracies in his films before, but Gladiator IIThe president’s weaknesses seem especially glaring. The events of the film took place a millennium before the invention of the printing press, so including a newspaper shows a pretty blatant disregard for historical facts. In case of NapoleonScott was largely dismissive of factual complaints about the film. It will be interesting to see if the director reflects this strategy when it comes to responding to Gladiator II criticism.
Source: THR