Oh you chose the perfect clip dude! At 8:05 - the second ‘are you not entertained?’ - look at the crowd- the last dude on the left is clearly wearing Levi’s and managing a big ass camera 😂
James Hancock has opinions and they are interesting and worth watching. I started watching zjames for his Westworld coverage and I stayed because I LIKE him and I’m not going anywhere!!!!!!!!!
High five, Larry! I think I've alienated just about everyone who followed me during the Westworld days and I'm thrilled and delighted to hear that you're still following the channel.
I saw an advanced screening of Gladiator II at Regal, and it was awesome. I knew it wasn't going to be as good as the first one. I didn't know that Denzel Washington's character would steal the show. He had an excellent story arch, and I liked watching him climb the political ladder through manipulation.
We all know his distaste for shooting in Japan with the high cost. Imagine what it would cost for him today. Black Rain is my favorite of his. And thanks to Tony, you Moose for getting me on The Game trilogy. I need to revisit that tonight.
I read somewhere that Ridley Scott was no better than the script he was given, and I agree with this. I really enjoyed A Good Year by Peter Mayle, and I enjoyed the movie, which had Russell Crowe. Peter Mayle was friends with Ridley Scott, they both lived in Provence in the south of France.
Caught by surprise, when you mentioned that Derek Jacobi is back for this sequel. He's about the same age of Ridley Scott and I'm happy that he's still acting. He's such a talented man.
Caught this last night I really was completely entertained Denzel steals this film and his full Villain turn is crazy towards the end 😊 I’m with you on the opening credits I thought they worked Harkens back to historical painting
Lets think about Ridleys Scotts Movies for a moment. He does have some awesome movies. For my taste I would go, Gladiator, Alien, BladeRunner, Thelma and Louis, Prometheus. I have yet to see the Duelists. After watching Bad Lieutenant and Mean Streets, I think I will love Duelists, just waiting for the 4k Treatment to experience my first time through. You bring up an incredible point about Verhoven. For my taste he is the better director. Starship Troopers, Basic Instinct, RoboCop, and Total Recall. Hit harder than Scotts work for me personally. But I will give Gladiator the nod as best film out of the bunch, but not by much to RoboCop or Starship. Fun listening to you this evening. Gladiator 2 was not God Awful. In fact, it was in my regard, ok to half decent...
Well, I like gladiator movies, but this was quite a step down from Scott's original, which was problematic as well, but the fact that everyone thought Denzel Washington's trademark histrionics were the best thing about it confirms how second-rate it is. I'll stick with Kubrick and Douglas' SPARTACUS, and even Anthony Mann's THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, over overblown computer generated fantasies like GLADIATOR 2, which did entertain, albeit routinely. If performances are key, I can highly recommend Richard Fleischer's superbly staged BARRABAS, which is a great arena drama; even Delmer Daves piously trashy DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS has its campiness going for it. I tend to like cheap peplum over the expensive kind, but then I'm old school all the way.
I agree with you, it wasn't as good as the original but it had basically no chance at getting there. Still, it was really good and enjoyed it, even the scene with the crazy monkeys lol As for sword and sandals movies, I recommend The Last Days of Pompeii, Sergio Leone's (technically) first movie. I'm currently watching his short yet illustrious filmography with my wife and we were both impressed at how good his first directorial effort is (though he only directed a part of it but regardless).
Mescal did not disappoint me. But he certainly did not entertain me. I don't know what Russel has, exactly, that Paul does not. But the deficiency for my taste was palpable. I would need to see way more to ever consider myself a fan of Mescals work. He did a nice job.. But he didn't make it Epic.... Like Chris Hemsworth would say.
I wonder how much they spent on marketing? Not sure what their breakeven point will be but if they receive roughly 50% of theatrical revenue, this thing needs to be a massive hit in order for Paramount to hold its head high.
I'm definitely going to give this a watch. As you are wearing the Hannibal tee, what were your thoughts on that movie? That's another critically divisive one. I happen to really enjoy it, even as much as Silence of the Lambs. They go well together
World History according to Ridley Scott… from the mind that gave you Napoleon, Robin Hood, Kingdom of Heaven, House of Gucci comes Gladiator 2: Training Day where “my man!” Originates in Antiquity. 😂
Lol, I was worried about some of the things I'd heard about Denzel's performance in advance but I think his days of performing Shakespeare in NYC served him well. He definitely brought some solid gravitas to a movie that was always veering toward being over the top.
Got my ticket for this but skipping Wicked. The good thing about getting older is that you realize you don’t have to see everything, and an almost 3-hour part 1 of a musical with two good songs is not for me. My hopes for Gladiator II are slightly raised but honestly I’m mostly watching it to see the battle sequences in a premium cinema.
Great review as always James, thanks. A small thing but I really wish Pedro Pascal would pass on a role every once in a while (not that I would pass on Gladiator 2 either) as he is becoming so over-exposed/omni-present (just like Margot Robbie) that he is starting to pull me out of the projects that he is in.
This film is to the original Gladiator what The Force Awakens is to Star Wars 1977(never called A New Hope). Copy and paste with more expensive but not better VFX.
I think Ridley Scott's weak point tends to be his judgement concerning the story/script, and this movie is example of this. Everything else from the cinematography to the acting was good or great, but the script was choppy and nonsensical, especially towards the end. The first Gladiator film, however, did have a really good story and script and that makes all the difference. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate this movie, but I was disappointed when I had time to reflect on it. I felt it was a good for a Hollywood Blockbuster, but not a worthy sequel. If they had fixed the script, it would have been though.
This movie was aiighttt. Nothing crazy spectacular but entertaining enough. A solid 7 outta 10. It's pretty obvious Ridley has a directors cut version that's at least 30 minutes longer. Lots of cool action set pieces but some more time should have been spent covering the political side of things but I understand why that's the parts they'd cut time from. Good not great
Gladiator II was tepid 5.3/10. I thought the CGI looked great, but I just didn't find the circumstance of the CGI to be plausible, hence it attracted my notice. Djimon Hounsou was the right kind of actor (super fit, super black) to be some sort of believable diversity in Gladiator. Denzel Washington looks and sounds like an african american of the 20th century, and he is known, and he was an implausible distraction every second he was on the screen. I like Denzel Washington, but not in this movie, because his appearance and his station and the power broker persona within the Roman empire was a distracting irritant. Stop ruining movies with wokeness.
I wouldn't have minded just a few cgi animals but once we saw monkeys, a rhino and sharks, it all started to feel a little over the top. Two dudes beating the crap out of each other will always be plenty entertaining for me.
This movie is trash....And ''The great Denzel Washington'' was complaining in an interview that.....He did a scene where he kissed a man and they cut it out....'' cause we were not ready for it''....TRASH!
1492 had the bestest bestest soundtrack and perhaps of all time by Vangelis. ❤❤❤❤❤ It was good to hear some different things being said about this movie, thanks 👍👍👍 Editted to add ... Glicked here I come on Saturday 💚🩷🥰⚔️🛡
Glad you mentioned Master and Commander. Feels like people forget how great that movie is.
fictional story that is the most historically accurate lol
So damn good. One of my favorite epics of the 21st century.
Great books also! Amazing writing.
Blackhawk Down is historical & epic! Gladiator, no matter how ridiculously unhistorical it is, still one of my all-time favorite movies.
Good call on Blackhawk Down and it definitely deserves to be included in that conversation. That femoral artery scene had me squirming in my seat.
Oh you chose the perfect clip dude! At 8:05 - the second ‘are you not entertained?’ - look at the crowd- the last dude on the left is clearly wearing Levi’s and managing a big ass camera 😂
James Hancock has opinions and they are interesting and worth watching. I started watching zjames for his Westworld coverage and I stayed because I LIKE him and I’m not going anywhere!!!!!!!!!
High five, Larry! I think I've alienated just about everyone who followed me during the Westworld days and I'm thrilled and delighted to hear that you're still following the channel.
This Comment made me smile. That’s what up
I saw an advanced screening of Gladiator II at Regal, and it was awesome. I knew it wasn't going to be as good as the first one. I didn't know that Denzel Washington's character would steal the show. He had an excellent story arch, and I liked watching him climb the political ladder through manipulation.
Doesn’t come close to the original but I still thought it was really good.
I'm right there with you. Nowhere close to the original but still a good time at the movies.
I will check it out. It's been ages since I've seen 'Gladiator'. After watching your 'Wicked' review I will definitely make it a double feature
Better bring a pillow to sit on. That's a helluva long time to be chilling at the movie theater. Let me know which of the two wins the day.
We all know his distaste for shooting in Japan with the high cost. Imagine what it would cost for him today. Black Rain is my favorite of his. And thanks to Tony, you Moose for getting me on The Game trilogy. I need to revisit that tonight.
I was blissfully unaware of The Game trilogy until Tony started sharing his amazing art. We are all in his debt.
@@geekinwithJamesHancock as in Michael Douglas the Game?
Totally agree that Duelist is his best historical epic. Even on a small budget Ridley creates a beautiful and atmospheric masterpiece.
I just want to be entertained... and Ridley always entertains me.
I agree. Nowhere near as great as Gladiator but who was actually expecting that. It’s still a good film, Scott and Washington being the MVPs.
I read somewhere that Ridley Scott was no better than the script he was given, and I agree with this. I really enjoyed A Good Year by Peter Mayle, and I enjoyed the movie, which had Russell Crowe. Peter Mayle was friends with Ridley Scott, they both lived in Provence in the south of France.
I would love to see the full tally of how much wine was consumed on set during that production.
Yeh ! I love it . Great action flick. Hey I will watch if he makes more ❤❤❤. I can’t believe how old Scott is ! He’s still kicking ass 😂😂😂
I’d give the flick a solid B - better than I expected but not quite up there with the first
Guess I’ll be checking out this and wicked then!
Caught by surprise, when you mentioned that Derek Jacobi is back for this sequel. He's about the same age of Ridley Scott and I'm happy that he's still acting. He's such a talented man.
Unlike Wicked, James, this is a film I might actually go and see in the theater.
Caught this last night
I really was completely entertained
Denzel steals this film and his full Villain turn is crazy towards the end 😊
I’m with you on the opening credits I thought they worked
Harkens back to historical painting
James... no. Kingdom of Heaven only has 2 cuts... and only the director's cut matters. Are we film lovers here or not?
Recommendation: Barrabas with Anthony Quinn, directed by Richard Fleischer. Some gladiator action in it. Full scale recreation of the Colosseum
Looks like old school genres are back on the menu boys! At least this weekend.
Keep it up good sir!
I'm all for all the old school genres making a comeback. We've been force fed the same old shit for way too long.
@@geekinwithJamesHancock Agreed.
The more options there are, the better the movie business will be.
I really like what the movie has to say about the decay of an empire
Ridley is not allowed to kick the bucket until he has finished Alien!
I was born in 81 my entire life has been full of Ridley Scott fims.
7:20 - That's interesting, because Crowe and Mescal are pretty much the same height, according to IMDb
It was just announced Denzel is doing Equilizer 4 and 5
Denzel steals the show.
I agree. I had heard in advance that he was too over the top but I thought he gave the performance of the bunch.
Lets think about Ridleys Scotts Movies for a moment. He does have some awesome movies. For my taste I would go, Gladiator, Alien, BladeRunner, Thelma and Louis, Prometheus. I have yet to see the Duelists. After watching Bad Lieutenant and Mean Streets, I think I will love Duelists, just waiting for the 4k Treatment to experience my first time through.
You bring up an incredible point about Verhoven. For my taste he is the better director. Starship Troopers, Basic Instinct, RoboCop, and Total Recall. Hit harder than Scotts work for me personally. But I will give Gladiator the nod as best film out of the bunch, but not by much to RoboCop or Starship. Fun listening to you this evening. Gladiator 2 was not God Awful. In fact, it was in my regard, ok to half decent...
Whoops. I forgot about Black Hawk Down. Ridley Edges out Paul Verhoven. Ridley is a mad man... Heck of a Movie Maker.
Well, I like gladiator movies, but this was quite a step down from Scott's original, which was problematic as well, but the fact that everyone thought Denzel Washington's trademark histrionics were the best thing about it confirms how second-rate it is. I'll stick with Kubrick and Douglas' SPARTACUS, and even Anthony Mann's THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, over overblown computer generated fantasies like GLADIATOR 2, which did entertain, albeit routinely. If performances are key, I can highly recommend Richard Fleischer's superbly staged BARRABAS, which is a great arena drama; even Delmer Daves piously trashy DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS has its campiness going for it. I tend to like cheap peplum over the expensive kind, but then I'm old school all the way.
I agree with you, it wasn't as good as the original but it had basically no chance at getting there. Still, it was really good and enjoyed it, even the scene with the crazy monkeys lol
As for sword and sandals movies, I recommend The Last Days of Pompeii, Sergio Leone's (technically) first movie. I'm currently watching his short yet illustrious filmography with my wife and we were both impressed at how good his first directorial effort is (though he only directed a part of it but regardless).
Mescal did not disappoint me. But he certainly did not entertain me. I don't know what Russel has, exactly, that Paul does not. But the deficiency for my taste was palpable. I would need to see way more to ever consider myself a fan of Mescals work. He did a nice job.. But he didn't make it Epic.... Like Chris Hemsworth would say.
The head of Paramount said in a Bloomberg interview the budget was 250 million
I wonder how much they spent on marketing? Not sure what their breakeven point will be but if they receive roughly 50% of theatrical revenue, this thing needs to be a massive hit in order for Paramount to hold its head high.
I'm definitely going to give this a watch.
As you are wearing the Hannibal tee, what were your thoughts on that movie? That's another critically divisive one. I happen to really enjoy it, even as much as Silence of the Lambs. They go well together
Gonna watch tomorrow, Gladiator its my favorite movie, i know its right in my lane, great video man, cheers
Hope you enjoy! Tough to match the epic grandeur of the original but it is still a good time at the movies.
World History according to Ridley Scott… from the mind that gave you Napoleon, Robin Hood, Kingdom of Heaven, House of Gucci comes Gladiator 2: Training Day where “my man!” Originates in Antiquity. 😂
Lol, I was worried about some of the things I'd heard about Denzel's performance in advance but I think his days of performing Shakespeare in NYC served him well. He definitely brought some solid gravitas to a movie that was always veering toward being over the top.
But Ridley has stated this is the best movie he has ever made.
Would love to watch a video on sword and sandal cinema! There aren’t that many around
You're really smart and informative!
Got my ticket for this but skipping Wicked. The good thing about getting older is that you realize you don’t have to see everything, and an almost 3-hour part 1 of a musical with two good songs is not for me. My hopes for Gladiator II are slightly raised but honestly I’m mostly watching it to see the battle sequences in a premium cinema.
To answer the question: no, I don’t like movies about gladiators. But I’m on my way to give this one a shot
I’d like to see Peter Graves in a gladiator movie
Great review as always James, thanks. A small thing but I really wish Pedro Pascal would pass on a role every once in a while (not that I would pass on Gladiator 2 either) as he is becoming so over-exposed/omni-present (just like Margot Robbie) that he is starting to pull me out of the projects that he is in.
This film is to the original Gladiator what The Force Awakens is to Star Wars 1977(never called A New Hope). Copy and paste with more expensive but not better VFX.
Hmmm. Double feature Sunday 🤔
James is positive and Grace is negative. What a crazy world 😂!!
Good Work Sir !! I am going tomorrow in San Jose ! Report Back
Very cool! "At my signal, unleash Hell."
The Roman version of "The force Awakens"😂😂😂
This movie was epic
I think Ridley Scott's weak point tends to be his judgement concerning the story/script, and this movie is example of this. Everything else from the cinematography to the acting was good or great, but the script was choppy and nonsensical, especially towards the end. The first Gladiator film, however, did have a really good story and script and that makes all the difference. Don't get me wrong, I didn't hate this movie, but I was disappointed when I had time to reflect on it. I felt it was a good for a Hollywood Blockbuster, but not a worthy sequel. If they had fixed the script, it would have been though.
James, is your dad Peter Graves? ✈️
Movie is way overpraised by reviewers… maybe the bar is just that low
This movie was aiighttt. Nothing crazy spectacular but entertaining enough. A solid 7 outta 10. It's pretty obvious Ridley has a directors cut version that's at least 30 minutes longer. Lots of cool action set pieces but some more time should have been spent covering the political side of things but I understand why that's the parts they'd cut time from. Good not great
the martian was really good
@@mbrennan27 hell yeah
Still Ridley's biggest commercial success he's ever had.
Gladiator II was tepid 5.3/10. I thought the CGI looked great, but I just didn't find the circumstance of the CGI to be plausible, hence it attracted my notice.
Djimon Hounsou was the right kind of actor (super fit, super black) to be some sort of believable diversity in Gladiator.
Denzel Washington looks and sounds like an african american of the 20th century, and he is known, and he was an implausible distraction every second he was on the screen.
I like Denzel Washington, but not in this movie, because his appearance and his station and the power broker persona within the Roman empire was a distracting irritant. Stop ruining movies with wokeness.
I wouldn't have minded just a few cgi animals but once we saw monkeys, a rhino and sharks, it all started to feel a little over the top. Two dudes beating the crap out of each other will always be plenty entertaining for me.
First
High five!
The film is pure shit. It's a parody. Cgi gentle furnished by Commodore 64.
This movie is trash....And ''The great Denzel Washington'' was complaining in an interview that.....He did a scene where he kissed a man and they cut it out....'' cause we were not ready for it''....TRASH!
Its was a terrible B movie, evry1 phoned it in, what a waste of time, what a disgrace to movie making!!
1492 had the bestest bestest soundtrack and perhaps of all time by Vangelis. ❤❤❤❤❤
It was good to hear some different things being said about this movie, thanks 👍👍👍
Editted to add ... Glicked here I come on Saturday 💚🩷🥰⚔️🛡
That score to 1492 was drool inducing. 100% agree.