Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Age of Myths, Gods and Empires => Topic started by: Cholmondely Percival IV on 11 November 2024, 04:22:45 PM
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This is the first review I’ve seen of the long-anticipated / dreaded sequel to Gladiator though I’m sure they’ll soon be coming thick and fast, and not all may be as positive.
Before reading, it may be worth bearing in mind that the reviewer, while generally a sound guide to a film’s virtues and / or lack thereof, is prone to lapses of both judgment and knowledge. An example of the former, which may immediately invalidate this review for some, is his glowing praise for Scott’s previous film, which, it is fair to say, is not well regarded by LAFers, or anyone with a moderate knowledge of the period in question. As for the latter, it may suffice to mention that his review of The Return of the King betrayed a lack of understanding of the respective roles of Sauron and Saruman. (He was not, to be fair, the only critic to confuse them, or to apparently believe them to be one and the same.) In a career of 25+ years, however, he may be forgiven the odd misstep, however individually egregious.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2024/nov/11/gladiator-2-review-paul-mescal-ridley-scott
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Ho hum, here we go again. Hollywood ignoring history, picking bits and pieces from hundreds of years apart and bashing them together with huge amounts of make-believe using the 'kewl' hammer. It'll be visually amazing to watch, but make no flippin' sense historically - it's the 'Bill and Ted' history lesson.
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Well Bradshaw’s pretty much said what I thought on the basis of the trailer alone a month or two ago. Shot after shot basically showing new versions of iconic moments from the original movie. Identical in some instances. So not a sequel but a remake. A second bite of the cherry.
One wonders why, at the age of 87, Ridley Scott feels the need to remake a movie he made 24 years before. Because he surely doesn’t need the money. I guess he just felt he could improve on the original.
We shall see :)
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I recall that talk of a sequel telling the story of Lucius began shortly after the original appeared. My reaction at the time was ‘Why?’, which remains the case. Perhaps we’ll see Napoleon II in due course (or not see it, if we have any sense).
P.S. Some may have noticed a purported trailer for ‘Braveheart II’ on YouTube. This appears to be what may charitably be described as a hoax, with clips taken from various sources, including the original Braveheart. Unfortunately it’s becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish this kind of nonsense from reality.
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One wonders why, at the age of 87, Ridley Scott feels the need to remake a movie he made 24 years before. Because he surely doesn’t need the money. I guess he just felt he could improve on the original......
Dementia? As they say about Alzheimer's, you are constantly meeting new people.
If not, maybe he reflected upon his last cinematic outing and thought 'Hang on! I used to make films that were at least crowd pleasers and cineplex fillers, whatever their artistic merits. Maybe I could do that again?'
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They say everyone has a price, perhaps Hollywood finally found Ridley's? It certainly has the all the indications of a cash cow remake rather than an all-new film.
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Wait, it's a remake? I thought it was a prequel.
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Wait, it's a remake? I thought it was a prequel.
I think officially it isn't a remake, but Bradshaw's point is that an awful lot of this supposedly new story mirrors the plot points and/or scenes of the original.
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>:D
Wait, it's a remake? I thought it was a prequel.
It's a sequel.
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But is it sequally good?
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I certainly shan't bother - Ridley Scott is not a selling point for a movie these days. Long gone are the days of Alien, Blade Runner or even the original Gladiator. He has nothing interesting to say or any point to make and should have retired a legend rather than crumble into a pastiche of himself.
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Now-a-days, you go into a Ridley Scott movie to see the cinematography and what and how he points the camera at things. You are looking for beautiful images.
He is not the director for story, plot, character, historical accuracy, etc.
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I loved the original movie for what it was: Great storytelling with awesome shots and impressive acting along with a monumental soundtrack.
I watched the new one last night. It was looking much like a remake for the first half and actually is meant to be a sequel with two actors I recognised from the first movie and one character whom is played by another.
The entire thing was way behind the old one, although some props and costumes looked better. That‘s it…
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Soundtrack any good!
???
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Forget the music, forget whatever passes for a plot and just embrace the homo-erotic celebration of oiled up beefcake strutting its stuff in revealing costumes. Don't think of it as film, more an animated Tom of Finland meets Angus McBride picture book.
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Soundtrack any good!
???
Not as good as in the old movie. There were passages from the old one, which were good (Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard), but the new music tells me nothing and doesn't touch me.
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Ridley Scott's best movies i.e. The Duelists and Alien were I think accidental. He made a movie and all the pieces fell into place and it was perfect. He rolled 5D6 and got all sixes. Completely random. Napoleon he rolled all '1's.
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All I can say about Gladiator II: the Moneymaker, is DUDE ON A FREAKING RHINO!
Someone needs to make this a Cavalry option. Please.
The rest of the movie looks turrible. Just … turrible.
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…and the Rhino/scene…was originally due to appear in the original film but Ridley and his team couldn’t get it to work hence its long awaited appearance in this version ;)
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Another omission from the original film was Maximus endorsing a brand of olive oil in the arena, which was rejected on grounds of being unbelievable. Apparently it’s historically authentic.
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Bugger! To think the world was denied Russell Crowe warbling a Roman ad.
Don't wait to be told, you need Quintus Ventus' Olive Gold!
Hopefully this version will attempt to right that wrong and have whoever appears as Emperor declaring that 'These games are proudly brought to you by Gavius Flaccus' Garum. A condiment fit for an Empreor's table'
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"True Roman olive oil for true Romans. Brought to you by the Aventine Brotherhood of Olive Traders, who use only the finest Roman olives! In association with Batiatus the lanista"
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Jeez!
There's no escape from death, taxes and ad's between every fight!
(https://i.redd.it/watching-rome-on-hbo-cannot-figure-out-what-this-is-was-v0-3ti8wobiruyb1.jpg?width=3498&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2cf0e7f324bd548d25134f78acb3afcd05c63d54)
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DueH3ihTN4OI&psig=AOvVaw05jViFlshpDtjaud0XzzS4&ust=1732007601481000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCNjOtdbF5YkDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAg (https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DueH3ihTN4OI&psig=AOvVaw05jViFlshpDtjaud0XzzS4&ust=1732007601481000&source=images&cd=vfe&opi=89978449&ved=0CBQQjRxqFwoTCNjOtdbF5YkDFQAAAAAdAAAAABAg)
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Without having seen the scene in question - which apparently was filmed so may conceivably appear at some point - one can only speculate as to its content. I imagine it going something like this:
EXT. Rome. The Colosseum. Day. After inventively disposing of another opponent, Maximus cynically acknowledges the crowd’s wild applause. Before he can leave the arena in disgust he is approached by the MC, who whispers a few words into his ear while soldiers watch him closely.
MC: Great double-handed decapitation, there, Maximus! As you can hear, the spectators really loved that!
More roaring from the crowd. Maximus waves briefly before turning his attention back on the MC.
MC: We’ve not seen scenes like this since Spartacus the Thracian eviscerated a Murmillo, strangled a tiger and impaled a Retiarus on his own trident, all in one afternoon! Of course Spartacus went off the rails a bit after that but it was fun while it lasted.
The crowd roars.
MC: Before you go off for a well-earned rest, I have a question that I’m sure everyone has been wondering about: what do you like on your salad? Only the best olive oil for the best gladiator in the arena, right?
Maximus glares balefully at the MC for a moment, then gathers himself.
MAXIMUS: Lurkio’s olive oil is the one I adore. It comes fresh from the press, all taste and no mess. I love it in my tummy, it’s so yummy. The fruitiest extra virgin on my gherkin. The only one worth having when you want to do some stabbing.
MC: Uh, Thank you, Maximus. Now go and have some salad with a generous dose of Lurkio’s olive oil. We’ll see you later for some more stabbing!
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All I can say about Gladiator II: the Moneymaker, is DUDE ON A FREAKING RHINO!
Someone needs to make this a Cavalry option. Please.
The rest of the movie looks turrible. Just … turrible.
Glorantha has Rhino riding tribemen already.
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Glorantha has Rhino riding tribemen already.
Miniatures? Get outta here! That scene is so digitally epic.
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Just throwing this in here, as it made me chuckle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC77saWLRMk
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For me Ridley Scott lost his way several films back. I am 100% not going to bother watching this.
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Well, that's a big thumb up for SNL!
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Not bad for SNL - mildly amusing.
Regarding the actual movie - I watched it a few weeks ago. Some of the acting was weird, over the top in some places and dead pan in others. The story wasn't exactly interesting - seen it before a hundred times in different genres.
The action was pretty good but the story just seemed to plod along from action scene to action scene. I was confused at first because I didn't know why I should care about the main character, he just seemed to be some random warrior to me, nothing really special. The choice of certain actors for certain roles could be best described as 'questionable', the same thing with extras. I'm not an expert by any means but I don't remember the Praetorian Guard being 'diverse'.
Would I watch it again? Nope - not a chance. It was tepidly entertaining.
Poor Ridley - I didn't realize it was possible for a director to fall as far as he has. His legacy is definitely tarnished by the pure 'girl bossing' in Napoleon, and the questionable story/casting choices in Gladiator II.
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Glorantha has Rhino riding tribemen already.
How does the rhino fit on the tribesmen????
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Another full of slimy diarrhea movie by Scott.
I have given up, and convinced his son is now in charge of Scott Free.
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I did finally make my saving throw though and have decided to see a matinee next week, can't really say I've ever watched any gladiator movie for historical accuracy.
Can't really pass up a chance to see big Coliseum fights on the big screen!
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Can't really pass up a chance to see big Coliseum fights on the big screen!
You need to visit the Moreland Hotel. The children's play area is a fibreglass/styrofoam tribute to the Colosseum and knowing my daughter as I do, I'm sure there was gladitorial combat taking place in there when she was younger.
As the article suggests so bad it's actually good.
https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/so-bad-it-s-good-the-fight-to-save-a-gaudy-brunswick-pub-20221123-p5c0ou.html
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That looks delightful — we who are about to fight drink a pint!
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The trick is not to seat yourself directly beneath the more than lifesize genitals of David when dining. ;)
Food isn't bad for pub fare and still reasonably priced.
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Gladiator II gets eviscerated by A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry (https://acoup.blog/2024/12/13/collections-nitpicking-gladiator-ii-part-ii/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=collections-nitpicking-gladiator-ii-part-ii).
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I saw the film last week with four mates. The result? Four enthusiastic thumbs down and one a bit wishy-washy: some nice action, lousy everything else.
I was one of the detractors. I felt it was rubbish - poorly written, scripted, and acted, with ridiculous plot 'twists' and preposterous outcomes, and some of the worst speechifying since 'Braveheart'. Just junk. Save your money and buy minis.
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Gladiator II gets eviscerated by A Collection of Unmitigated Pedantry (https://acoup.blog/2024/12/13/collections-nitpicking-gladiator-ii-part-ii/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=collections-nitpicking-gladiator-ii-part-ii).
Sounds like the film is trying to be some Mad Max type film with an entire culture revolving around the gladiator fights. The Colosseum dominating the skyline strongly hints at this.
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Sounds like Ridley thinking to himself: I have no fucking clue, couldn't give a shit but do want some more $$$$$$.
It was a nice evisceration on the historical side but perhaps its most telling points are the brutal dismissal of story arc and theme.