Gladiator 2

"Brings superb spectacle and storytelling in equal measure."

"Paul Mescal slays in Ridley Scott’s gobsmacking reboot."

"A solid piece of neoclassical popcorn... but it's ultimately a mere shadow of Gladiator."

"Has plenty of the eye-popping spectacle and operatic violence audiences will want."

"The best of the film is its sheer bloody-minded heft... fuelled by an insistence on bigger, sillier, movie-r."

"Gladiator 2 is thrilling – even if Paul Mescal is no Russell Crowe."

"While Paul Mescal impresses... a stellar Denzel Washington rather eclipses the rest of the cast."

"It’s just a bunch of pixels at war with each other, with human stakes left to bleed out."

"After a 24-year-wait, with a rumoured quarter-billion-dollar budget, we could have expected more."

"“Are you not entertained!?” The answer is no, not really."

"Denzel Washington steals the show."

"A dull retread of the original."

"Denzel Washington's hammy performance almost justifies it."

"A true epic."

"In the flamboyant Washington, it has a trump card that pays off in a gripping and slickly executed final stretch."

"(A) dreary, Marvelesque sequel, which only ignites when Denzel Washington’s brilliant, bisexual slave manager is on screen."

"It's more a swaggering, sword-and-sandal epic that prizes the need to entertain above all else."

"Endless samey – albeit delightfully disgusting – exercises in competitive viscera-letting."

"What could have been a ponderous, predictable sequel to a much-loved Oscar-winner instead turns out to be a fun romp."

"Washington radiates a showman's delight, relishing his character's deviousness."

"Full of spectacle and spectacular performances... by far the best popcorn film of the year."

"(Has) enough fresh perspective to feel relevant and an unmissable Denzel Washington supporting turn."

"The lack of internal consistency robs its action of sustained tension and its comedy of bite."