Did Gladiator 2 Get Anything Correct?

Gladiator 2 was far worse than the original, though it had even more epic battles. Yet the story and spectacle is less satisfying. The history is terrible, don’t get me wrong, but a fictitious version of ancient Rome still cannot justify how bad this ended up. I reviewed the first one already, basically saying there is a fictionalized version that works well. The one we got was too reliant on a fake version of the Roman Empire that we got in that version, one that placates a strange sense of American liberalism that simply did not exist at the time. This one amplifies that fable to grotesque proportions. But to understand, I must cover what the various emperors from Commodus to Caracalla and a little bit further, for the Severan Dynasty is what this movie ultimately misrepresents. ――――――――― *Bibliography* Michael Grant, The Severans: The Changed Roman Empire (London: Routledge, 1996). https://amzn.to/42vaBtn Pat Southern, The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine. London: Routledge, 2001. https://amzn.to/4jBGKp9 ToldInStone’s excellent video on the topic: https://youtu.be/U7TDtrvV_yg https://slate.com/culture/2024/11/gladiator-2-movie-2024-reviews-accuracy-maximus-lucius.html https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/nov/19/gladiator-ii-ridley-scott-historical-inaccuracies-rhinos ――――――――― Connected videos First gladiator: https://youtu.be/Xcy_nEpS1Sc Napoleon review: https://youtu.be/fedcheTDVSc Last Duel: https://youtu.be/ab7mharY2vk Heteronormativity: https://youtu.be/lbBl46Rb3LM Tech polarization: https://youtu.be/xHlBdebjpyQ ――――――――― SUBSCRIBE FOR MORE VIDEOS: http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=CynicalCypher88 Support the channel through PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/CynicalHistorian or by purchasing MERCH: https://cynical-historian-shop.fourthwall.com/ LET'S CONNECT Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/cynicalhistorian Discord: https://discord.gg/Ukthk4U Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/cynicalhistorian.bsky.social ――――――――― Wiki: Gladiator II is a 2024 historical epic film directed and produced by Ridley Scott that is a sequel to Gladiator (2000). Written by David Scarpa based on a story he wrote with Peter Craig, the film was produced by Scott Free Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures. It stars Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Connie Nielsen, and Denzel Washington.[7] Derek Jacobi and Nielsen reprise their roles from the first film, with Mescal replacing Spencer Treat Clark. Mescal portrays Lucius Verus Aurelius, the exiled Prince of Rome, who becomes a prisoner of war and fights as a gladiator for Macrinus, a former slave who plots to overthrow the twin emperors Geta and Caracalla. Hashtags: #history #GladiatorII #RomanEmpire #review #BasedOnATrueStory