Gladiator II (2024) is the next installment in failed historical fiction, disappointingly delivered by the director who once brought us Black Hawk Down (2001), American Gangster (2007), and Blade Runner (1982), among many others. It follows his previous lackluster historical fiction, Napoleon (2023). Despite plagiarizing its predecessor to an extent that would make President Biden blush, there’s little family resemblance between the two movies past crude nostalgia baiting.

Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal), revealed to be the son of Maximus from Gladiator, was sent away by his mother Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) after the events of that film to protect him from assassins, as he is the grandson of one emperor and nephew of another, making him a potential rival to whoever sits on the Roman throne. Lucius lives with his wife in Numidia when their city is attacked by Roman legionnaires under the command of General Acacius (Pedro Pascal).
Lucius’s wife is killed in the attack, he is taken as a slave and trained to be a gladiator, and he swears vengeance against Acacius. Unbeknownst to him, Acacius is tired of war and plots with his wife Lucilla to depose Rome’s corrupt twin emperors, Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger). 
Now, not having a reason for existing does not a bad story make. Consider HBO’s The Penguin, for example. But a story that doesn’t need to be told does have a higher bar to meet when it comes to being told well. And here, Gladiator II doesn’t measure up. Despite being an almost shot-for-shot remake of the first film with the same character roles, it feels conventional and modern.
There’s a certain kind of sequel that’s become more common over the last decade. It takes a completed story that doesn’t need anything more, fasts forward a few decades, and just repeats it with new characters and some minor tweaks. Ta-da, a reboot! Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the archetype of this kind of movie. Was it a bad film? Not necessarily. But it was a film that...