'Gladiator II' review: More of the same but still satisfying

Ridley Scott's 2000 swords-and-sandals epic, “Gladiator,” closed with a memorable shot that became an indelible image associated with the film: Russell Crowe's hand, callused and battle-worn, gently caressing strands of wheat, while his character Maximus makes his way. home from somewhere in the afterlife. Scott references this peaceful image at the beginning of his sequel, “Gladiator II.” Rough, thick hands, hardened by farming and fighting, dive into a sack of harvested grain, feeling the fruits of their labor.

These two similar shots become the thesis of this faithful sequel. It's the same movie, slightly modified and constantly referencing and reminding you of the original, delivering what you already loved about “Gladiator”: strength and honor, bread and circuses, blood and guts.

The hands that open “Gladiator II” belong to Lucius (Paul Mescal), the son of Maximus and Lucilla (Connie Nielsen). Once crown prince of Rome, he was forced to flee at age 12 for his safety and is now a humble farmer in Numidia, North Africa. He and his wife (Yuval Gonen) live an idyllic life of domestic bliss, interrupted by Roman raids. It is after one such raid, led by General Acacio (Pedro Pascal), that Lucius returns to his hometown, now an enslaved gladiator and a grieving widower, just as his father was.

Lucius has a knack for showmanship, with moves he stole from Maximus, but he's wilder, going tooth-to-tooth with a nasty baboon in an out-of-town podunk ring. His ferocity catches the attention of gladiator agent Macrinus (Denzel Washington), just as Maximus caught the attention of Proximo (Oliver Reed), and Macrinus is going to make Lucius a star.

This is a film of doubles, repeated characters, dual identities and double the violence in the Colosseum. The twin emperors rule Rome in an uneasy brotherly alliance. Did you like the creepy Joaquin Phoenix in the first movie? How about two? With their faces painted white, surrounded by concubines of all genders, emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger) are completely captivated by the barbarian Virgil who can recite while covered in another man's blood, after which Macrinus presents to Lucius in a private display case. He becomes the toast of the Colosseum and leads the other gladiators to victory against rhinos, sharks and all manner of human and animal beasts.

Lucius is hell-bent on revenge on Acacius, while his mother Lucilla (the returning Nielsen) is desperate to save her son from the Colosseum. Elsewhere, Macrinus of Washington has his own plans for power in Rome. Therein lies the Achilles heel of “Gladiator II”: there is simply too much plot to really care about these characters.

Because there is so much going on, with multiple betrayals, backstabbing, front stabbing, politicking (and sharks, too), what “Gladiator II” lacks from its predecessor is sophisticated storytelling, deep story work. nuanced characters and messages. The story of the new film (by David Scarpa and Peter Craig) falls a little flat because it tells you what it's about on the surface.

If “Gladiator” was Scott's thinly veiled film about Hollywood, an allegory about the business of creating entertainment for a fickle crowd and a customer who lazily raises and lowers his thumbs from above, then “Gladiator II” is his not-so- evening -evening “movie about democracy” (or “policetics”as Washington extravagantly spits). The subtext is text as Lucius delivers several speeches about “the dream of Rome” that he met at the knee of his grandfather, Marcus Aurelius.

Although the script fails, the spectacle does not, and “Gladiator II” is Scott's most compelling film in years. Glossy and bloody, sandblasted and sun-worn, it has the visual sharpness of the first and doesn't have the strange desaturated look of some of the director's recent work. The visions of the afterlife that Lucius experiences are as aesthetically different as those in the original film, but rendered in high-contrast black and white, which sets them apart.

The cast is uniformly excellent, including the swaggering Washington, chewing the scenery, and the soulful Mescal, who looks like the statue of David come to life in a fierce, brutal way. Mescal has an element of unpredictable savagery, and when he is allowed out it is paralyzing, although he is largely kept on a leash, save for a few memorable scenes. Nielsen is radiant as Lucilla, 25 years after first playing the role, and achieves a bit of redemption for the character. Quinn and Hechinger revel in the disgust of their beloved leaders.

“Gladiator II” corresponds closely to the structure and style of the original film, so there isn't much that's surprising or unexpected. The film itself is a child, made of the same DNA in the same image. It's the only “Gladiator” sequel that could exist and exactly what you expect, for better or worse. Are you not entertained?

Katie Walsh is a film critic for the Tribune News Service.