Maximus Shots Fired: Someone Asked Russell Crowe About Gladiator II, And He Did Not Hold Back

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After more than two decades, Ridley Scott has finally released Gladiator II in 2024, a follow-up to his popular 2000 historical epic. While the new film features a mostly new cast, Russell Crowe, famous for playing the brave Maximus in the original, doesn’t appear. Just as his character spoke his mind in the first film, Crowe is now openly sharing his honest opinions about the sequel.

While it was pretty much a given that Crowe wouldn’t reprise Maximus (the role that won him the Academy Award for Best Actor), he still received plenty of Gladiator II questions ahead of the film’s release. Considering Crowe’s affiliation with the film duology, I wondered how he felt about the sequel. He recently revealed those sentiments during an interview with Triple J, which was shared to Instagram. To put it mildly, Crowe isn’t pleased with the movie for a few reasons:

As a big fan, I was really disappointed with the recent sequel – you know the one. It felt like even the people making it didn’t get what made the original so great. It wasn’t about flashy effects or big action scenes; it was the strong moral compass of the story. And I’ve heard there was a constant struggle on set, a daily battle, to even keep that central moral theme intact.

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Russell Crowe believes the upcoming Gladiator sequel, while visually impressive, lacks the strong moral core of the original film. Though the two movies share some similarities, they tell very different stories. The first Gladiator focused on Maximus’s quest for revenge and his desire to build a better future for the Roman Empire – a story driven by both spectacle and a sense of justice.

Maximus Decimus Meridius is a popular character, and I believe that’s due to his strong moral compass. It’s fascinating to hear Russell Crowe discuss how important it was to preserve the character’s integrity during the making of the original film. He also criticized a major plot twist in the sequel, which sparked a lot of debate when it came out.

They kept pushing for sex scenes involving Maximus, and it felt like it diminished his character. They’d question the story, asking how he could be devoted to his wife while also having an affair, and calling it unbelievable. After the movie came out, I’d often have European women approach me in public to express their frustration, saying they felt betrayed by the portrayal and clarifying that they wouldn’t have behaved that way themselves.

Gladiator II takes place sixteen years after the first film. It centers on Lucius (Paul Mescal), now grown up and the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). After being captured in war, he’s forced to fight as a gladiator. Lucius, a former prince, also aims to overthrow the two current emperors. The movie reveals a surprising twist: Lucius is actually the son of Maximus, which feels unexpected considering Maximus’s strong commitment to his wife and child.

Despite any issues with the story itself, critics generally loved Ridley Scott’s sequel, especially its impressive scale – a full colosseum was actually constructed for it. While many praised the visuals and Denzel Washington’s performance as the character Macrinus, a former slave who becomes a stable master, some felt the movie lacked depth in its plot.

As a huge fan of the Gladiator movies, I was so excited to find out I can stream both of them on Paramount+! They have a couple of different plans – the Essential plan is really affordable at $7.99 a month, and if you want to skip the ads, you can upgrade to the Premium plan for $12.99 a month. If you’re planning on watching a lot, they also have an annual plan which could save you some money. I just signed up – definitely worth it to revisit these classics!

Russell Crowe clearly wasn’t a fan, joining those who didn’t enjoy the second Gladiator movie. Despite the negative reactions, a third film is reportedly being planned. It will be interesting to see if a third installment can win over those who disliked the second one. In the meantime, both Gladiator films are available to stream on Paramount+.

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2025-12-10 01:09