Gladiator II

The film has plenty to commend it. Spectacular set pieces. Multiple plots that weave together. Interesting side characters. A pace that rises and relaxes with the right beats. The feeling of a taking place within a rich Roman world that has a life of its own.

But it's hard to appreciate those when the film has numerous key flaws. There's very little tension outside of a 4th act twist, with everything before being a reskin of the events of the first film. The echoes aren't subtle either, but the characters quote their predecessors and we have multiple flashbacks. The action, the historical details, and even individual characters key decisions make so little that it often breaks the suspense of disbelief (not least of all that scene of kids playing football). Most critically, the key cast and Paul Mezcal most of all (but with the notable exception of Denzel Washington) simply fail to make their characters believable: that the scripts has them always giving stern speeches rather than simply talking doesn't help.

There's elements of a good film in there. But it's hard to appreciate them when the flaws stick out so sorely.