Gladiator II

Director Ridley Scott has never concealed his love for historical feature films like Quo Vadis (1951), Ben-Hur (1959) and Spartacus (1960). He provided proof of this in 2000 with the highly successful Gladiator, about the Roman general Maximus, played by Russel Crowe, who falls into disgrace and ends up fighting off the corrupt and depraved emperor Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) as a gladiator in the Colosseum. The film won five Oscars, including for Best Picture. Now there is a sequel: Gladiator II, starring, among others, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington.

Lucius, the son of former hero Maximus, has to watch his wife and child being murdered by Roman soldiers only to end up in slavery himself. He remembers the fate of his father and how, as a gladiator, he not only regained his freedom but also took revenge on the evil emperor. He decides to follow his example.