If you are familiar with the first Gladiator (2000) and you are like me, you find yourself getting to the climactic point when Maximus Decimus Meridius (Russell Crowe) is about to meet up with his army and march on Rome to overthrow the upstart Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix), and wanting it to conclude differently.  Commodus is the clear villain of the film and Maximus the protagonist.  The former had murdered everyone for whom the latter had cared, save for Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), and the plot cries out for justice.  Being a Christian and the kind of guy who likes happy cinematic endings, I wish for Maximus to live and Rome to realize this “dream” spoken of in whispered tones throughout the movie.  I also just gave you a rough outline of what happens in Gladiator II, including it having the kind of finish I can appreciate.  It clearly plays fast and loose with the true history in a way that makes it what I would label as “Roman-ish.”  Then again, its predecessor did the same thing and people loved it.  Because this one fulfills many of my longings from the previous one, does it mean I like it better?  You will have to find out as I work through this synopsis.

You get a refresher of Gladiator with the opening credits of Gladiator II.  Though this backstory is filled in throughout the film, it suffices to say that the boy who had been Lucius Verus Aurelius (Alfie Tempest) had been sent away by Lucilla, his mother, for the heir to the throne’s protection.  Somehow, he had ended up in the kingdom of Numidia in Northern Africa where he grows into a man going by the name Hanno (Paul Mescal).  He and his wife, Arishat (Yuval Gonen), respond to the call to arms when look outs on their city’s walls spot the approach of a Roman fleet.  The invasion force is led by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), who takes personal charge of the attack by fighting on the walls with his men.  This means he is on hand to order the Numidian archers to be taken out, which is shouted within earshot of Hanno.  In the next moment, Arishat is killed and he takes a blow to the head before falling into the water from the ramparts.  In his daze, he sees his wife being carried over to the other side and he is devastated when he reawakens.  He is taken prisoner and brought to Rome with a triumphant General Acacius.  While he gets his parade and goes before the twin brother emperors, Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) and Geta (Joseph Quinn), Hanno is sold into slavery as gladiator. Hanno is one of the Numidia prisoners that catches the eye of Macrinus (Denzel Washington), who trains men to fight in the arena.  Something about Hanno marks him as different, and Macrinus asks the young man what he wants.  Hanno desires the head of General Acacius, and Macrinus promises to give the newly minted Gladiator the opportunity.  It is not long before Hanno is put to the test in the famous Roman Colosseum, where he and a number of his fellow fighters have to face a decorated gladiator riding a rhinoceros.  Because the games are being given in honor of General Acacius’ victory, who gives a modest speech to the crowd, his presence means his wife, Lucilla, is also in attendance.  When she sees the way Hanno picks up dirt before fighting, she has the notion that it is her long-lost son come back to Rome.  Not only is she excited to see Lucius after so many years, but she is also part of a conspiracy, along with General Acacius to depose the despotic brothers.  Yet, when she goes to see Hanno, in addition to wanting nothing to do with her or his legacy, he also vows his revenge on her husband.  As these machinations unfold, Macrinus can tell that something is afoot with his new gladiatorial prodigy and in Rome overall.  Hanno remains elusive as to his true origins.  However, with what is going on behind the closed doors, Macrinus has a source of information in the form of Senator Thraex (Tim McInnerny).  The member of the increasingly perfunctory legislative body is also a part of the same group plotting against the emperors.  This would not be a problem if not for the fact that Senator Thraex accrues a great deal of gambling debt to Macrinus.  When Macrinus comes to collect, including the senator’s house, Senator Thaex exchanges what he has learned about General Acacius and Lucilla, particularly regarding Hanno’s true identity.  This is the moment the former slave Macrinus had been waiting for to get revenge on Rome.  Yet, his first idea of using Hanno to gain access to power is thwarted when the young man refuses to cooperate.  This is because he had been forced to fight General Acacius and learned what a good man was the former soldier.  I used past tense there because despite each man surrendering to the other, the emperors order General Acacius execution.  This had been orchestrated by Macrinus, who had shared what he knew of the cabal, which earned them a high rank in the empire.  He follows this up by murdering the emperors separately, but personally.  The next scheduled to die is Lucilla.  For this, though, Hanno has a plan.  Getting word to General Acacius army nearby, he also arranges for the other gladiators to be freed when it comes time for the next event.  In it, he will be called upon to defend his mother by himself against the Praetorian guard, the emperor’s personal troops.  The tide is turned when dozens of gladiators appear to help Hanno.  Unfortunately, while he is successful, Macrinus takes a bow and arrow and puts a bolt into Lucilla’s chest.  Hanno then rides after the fleeing Macrinus, catching up with him between two armies about to clash.  Instead of a battle, Hanno and Macrinus engage in hand-to-hand combat, with the younger man coming out victorious.  He then gives a speech about the importance of Rome and the film ends.

The implication as the credits roll at Gladiator II’s conclusion is that Hanno will be taking his rightful place as Emperor Lucius.  Keep in mind here that this is a historical drama, which is why “implication” is the best word to use.  Yet, if you are keeping score at home, you will note that the order or emperors in actual history versus director Ridley Scott’s version of it are a little different.  To be fair, Caracalla, Geta, and Macrinus all occupied the throne of Caesar, but, for example, Caracalla and Geta were not twin brothers ruling at the same time.  Even young Lucius got his turn, but years before the events depicted in the movie.  And if you think I am nitpicking here, you should have been sitting next to me when I saw the Numidians using trebuchets to fend off the Romans.  You probably would have punched me in the arm for saying, “No, no, no.”  I am sorry, but the historian in me cannot help but notice such things, just like the Catholic in me is attuned to the fact that, like its cinematic predecessor, Christians are not a part of this movie.  It makes little sense since we know that at least some early followers of Jesus were martyred in the famous Roman landmark.  By the time depicted in the movie, the Faith was becoming an increasing concern for the empire.  Indeed, it starts in the year 200 and by then Catholicism was already on its fifteenth pope.  Hence, even if you do not want to give Christians any sympathy by showing their persecution at this time, then you probably should have at least one or two there somewhere at least in the background.  Instead, we get this thinly veiled hero worship of an ideal Rome that, by the third century AD, few people thought about as the empire slowly crumbled.

This “dream that is Rome” that is whispered about in the last film and in Gladiator II is an interesting one to analyze through a Catholic lens.  Again, it does not match with historical reality, at least if you are talking about the various people the Romans subjugated.  If nothing else, the film wants you to believe there were good people that wanted to return to the days when it was a republic.  At the same time, show me a person who has the literal power of life and death, as we see with the thumbs down or up gesture, who is willing to give up their position.  It becomes harder to imagine when, after they render their decision, they claim it to be the will of the gods.  In reality, God does have such power over us, but He does not wield it in the fickle manner you see in the movie.  It is love that guides His actions, the kind of love that is often hard to understand but is always for our benefit.  What it takes to experience His devotion to its fullest is surrender.  Because of this, my favorite part of the movie comes when General Acacius and Hanno decide to stop fighting one another.  The gesture they make is an act of surrender, kneeling before each other.  It is General Acacius who gets on his knees first, begging Hanno to see the love his mother has for her son.  Doing so is what brings Hanno to his knees, honoring the man he had misjudged.  It is love that continues to guide Hanno’s deeds for the rest of the film, in service to others and to his country.  It is a choice of freedom, which is the same thing God offers us all.

What I am then offering you is a split opinion about Gladiator II.  If you can ignore the anachronisms and historical inaccuracies, it is a decent film.  It takes a lot of cues from its predecessor, but since that is such a good movie, we can chalk this one up as imitation being the highest form of flattery.  Otherwise, meh.