After 24 years, the story of a Roman-era gladiator continues as a surprise sequel. Oswego movie lovers and Gladiator fans anxiously compared the two films and see if the sequel lived up to its beloved predecessor.
“I will be very curious to see how they do it… I read there was an initial thought of bringing Russell Crowe back… they obviously feel money can be made,” said OH Social Studies Teacher Christopher Neitzel.
Russell Crowe played the leading role of the first Gladiator film, winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Maximus along with much critical acclaim.
“Russell Crowe is probably in my top five as far as actors go,” said Neitzel.
Although Crowe won’t be returning in the sequel, there is another Academy Award-winning actor joining the cast by the name of Denzel Washington.
“Well Denzel being in there probably bodes well for its success. Another one of my all-time faves… I don’t think he will sign on unless it’s quality,” said Neitzel.
Denzel Washington is a two-time Academy Award winner and is famous for his memorable lines and masterful acting chops, earning him the status of a legend in Hollywood. His presence among the cast will most likely boost the movie’s success both critically and at the box office.
“I love tracking Box Office success as both a fan of movies and as an Econ teacher… The early reviews are good… Pedro Pascal who is on a super career roll right now is in it… definitely wouldn’t bet against it,” said Neitzel.
According to IMDB Gladiator was the second highest-grossing film of 2000 only being beaten out by Mission Impossible 2. The film grossed $465.5 million and there will be high expectations for Gladiator 2 to be one of the highest grossing movies of the year.
“I enjoyed the first film but it wasn’t an all-timer for me… as a teacher, I prefer to grade movies as opposed to the 10 point [scale] deal… I give the first one a solid B+” said Neitzel.
According to IMDB the first Gladiator film has a 8.5/10 rating. A film with a high rating such as this is guaranteed to also hold memorable moments and scenes.
“Obviously I like the final fight scene… what I did like is they had Joaquin Phoenix’s character hurt and basically disabled Crowe to give him a chance… at least it was real enough that Phoenix knew he had no chance in a fair fight,” said Neitzel.
This 2000s, 2h 35m action-packed historical is a five-time Academy Award-winning classic. The sequel is cutting the time down to 2h 28m with many new actors and changing writers.
A movie cinephile who knows movies in and out that is also a OH parent who gave his feedback on the movie.
“The Gladiator was one of the best action and history-based movies,” said OH parent Christoper Ross.
The Gladiator film had a lot of information on how the real-life gladiators used to live in 180 AD, and it includes information in a way that teaches the viewer about that brutal, often dangerous, time period.
“The [new] Gladiator had great CGI use and a mixture of real objects and the movie really sucks you in,” said Ross.
Gladiator had a budget of $103 million with Gladiator ll raising it to $310 million.
“Due to the budget up in the Gladiator ll, they were able to make it feel as close to real-life as possible. And with the returning actors with new actors made it even better,” said Ross.
After sharing their takes, OH viewers and fans of the first Gladiator film will return to theaters for Gladiator II as it was released in North America on Nov 22 and is in theaters now.
Hi, it's my first year on the 42Fifty staff. I am a senior at Oswego High School and I play football for the Oswego Panthers. You can contact me by emailing 42Fifty@sd308.org and putting my name in the subject line. We welcome comments on our articles and feedback on our publication!
