Lucius (once the leader of a peaceful outlying district of the Roman Empire) is forced to enter the arena as a gladiator to defeat the corrupt twin emperors and return Rome to her former glory blah blah blah. 

More a remake than a sequel, legacy or otherwise, of Ridley Scott’s 2000 epic, this one offers superbly choreographed and executed battle scenes, excellent acting (even in the hokey parts) by Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen and even Denzel Washington. The pacing is good and the drama is only occasionally overblown, and then forgivably so.

The movie sags when it tries to establish meaningful ties with the first film. I understand that you have to have some sort of framework on which to hang all the mayhem. But this tends to be kind of hokey and forced. It pulls you out of the film. But not too often or for too long, and soon we’re back to the vicious head-bashing. Denzel shines as a devilish schemer in a complex role that could have been disastrous with a lesser actor.

Bottom line: It’s a very well-done bit of unnecessary multiplex-fodder. Great epic action fun at the movies. But while we will all remember 2000’s Gladiator, that won’t happen with this one. (148 min)