Gladiator 2 is the direct sequel to Ridley Scotts Best Picture-winning epic Gladiator, picking up several years after the originals conclusion and following Maximus son Lucius on his quest for vengeance and justice. The film explores Lucius journey back to Rome, stepping into his fathers footsteps and calling for a revolution from within the walls of the gladiatorial Colosseum. Its a fitting and stirring continuation of the original story, using several important callbacks and returning Gladiator characters to give the story extra weight.

Despite taking place many years after the original films conclusion, Gladiator 2 does a great job of staying connected to that original narrative. Maximus legacy plays a huge role in the story, giving Lucius something to aspire to and continuing his fathers dream of Rome that was first spoken by Marcus Aurelius in the first movie. These callbacks often come in more subtle forms too, with brief...