Ridley Scott Returns With Vengeance in One of the Best of 2024
DIRECTOR: RIDLEY SCOTT/2024
Is Ridley Scott our greatest living major director of battle sequences? The more I consider that question, the more I realize how few rivals he has.
For definition’s sake, I’m referring to large group combat (not duels or vehicle chases), and who in the last 30 years has directed as many and at such great a scale as Sir Ridley Scott? Outside of his oeuvre, most of the outstanding battle scenes in recent decades have been directed by people whose CVs are too short, too varied in genre, or too focused on one franchise to compare to his. (Think Kevin Costner, Mel Gibson, Peter Jackson, Patty Jenkins, Francis Lawrence, Ang Lee, George Lucas, Michael Mann, Sam Mendes, George Miller, or Gore Verbinski). James Cameron still can’t claim 10 narrative features to his name. Steven Spielberg’s last significant battle was in 2005’s War of the Worlds. Christopher Nolan kept most of the focus of Dunkirk on individuals. Except for the Crazy 88 sequence in Kill Bill, Quentin Tarantino usually prefers shootouts and one-on-one showdowns, as does Martin Scorsese. Roland Emmerich may have the quantity, but he hasn’t kept up the quality. Perhaps action directors like Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front), Ryan Coogler (Black Panther), Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer), Rian Johnson (Star Wars: The Last Jedi), Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick), Gina Prince-Bythwood (The Woman King), Matt Reeves (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), or Chad Stahelski (John Wick) will build a resume with the Scott’s consistency, but until then, no one in Hollywood can claim they have outdone him.
Michael Jordan didn’t become the GOAT because he won one NBA championship, and neither did Scott, who in almost 50 years has directed memorable battles modern (G.I. Jane, Black Hawk Down), historical (Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Robin Hood, Exodus: Gods and Kings), and sci-fi (Alien: Covenant). Not every title has been successful, but none failed because of the action. No one should be sleeping on late-period Ridley, either. The Last Duel rules. The battle scenes—and “Destiny has brought me this lamb chop!”—in Napoleon rule. House of Gucci rules sans combat. But what rules the hardest yet in the twilight of his career? That would be Gladiator II.
Though it’s been 24 years since the release of Gladiator, only 16 have passed for its characters. Heir to the Roman throne Lucius (Paul Mescal) has been hiding in Africa since his uncle Commodus was killed, but like Maximus, he is drawn back by tragedy. His grit and skills with a blade attract the attention of Macrinus (Denzel Washington), who promises to deliver the head of General Acacius (Pedro Pascal) if he continues to win for him as a gladiator. But Rome isn’t the place Lucius knew as a boy. Now ruled by twin emperors, the vain Geta (Joseph Quinn) and mercurial Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), the empire simmers with discontent. Bread and circuses won’t satisfy the people forever, and those who still hold to “the dream of Rome,” like his mother Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), see an opportunity to establish a true republic.
Like 2000’s Best Picture winner, Gladiator II is both brutal and exhilarating, but its boldest stroke is finding ways to surprise us after decades of cable viewings of the original. The first 15 minutes are so familiar as to feel repetitive, setting up another tale of black-and-white (yet satiating) frontier justice. If Mescal had followed the same formula as Russell Crowe did, it still would’ve been a blast; what moves it into the best films of 2024 is how it wrongfoots us, lulling us into complacency, then revising the vision of this sadistic world with a new way to win. As Washington hisses, that way is “politicssssss.”
Washington is key to this franchise subversion, holding his cards closely until he chooses to reveal them. I won’t spoil anything, but know the speculation about his winning a third Oscar for this role isn’t hype. Even with the all the spectacle in this sequel, he is who leaves the biggest impression. Mescal inherits this breastplate and sword with no real complaint, and if his career continues to climb, we may return to Lucius with more affection because of a deeper relationship with Mescal. In 2024, though, he doesn’t possess the same star quality as Crowe at his height or as Washington now. This is a Denzel movie before it’s a Mescal movie.
Of course, it’s a Ridley movie first, and he continues his unparalleled streak with a thrilling opening siege and several team competitions in the arena, as well as an epic duel between Mescal and Pascal and a gory retribution for the twimporers. However, if you’re hung up on the idea of sharks in the Colosseum, I ask you—nay, I dare you: What if you let yourself have a little fun? In addition to his acumen for keeping elaborate warfare coherent, Scott graciously never takes himself too seriously, allowing all-time performances and complex ideas to live alongside maritime battles and monkey-based humor. (All hail, Dondas!) If that’s not enough, I ask you—nay, I beg of you: What else do you want from cinema?