Russell Crowe Thinks Gladiator 2 Failed for One Key Reason The First Film Got Right

Superstar Russell Crowe isn’t keeping quiet about why he believes the first Gladiator film went on to become a beloved classic, while its sequel, Gladiator 2, also directed by Ridley Scott and featuring huge names like Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal, has essentially become erased from the cultural zeitgeist in the time since its release. The actor spoke recently at the Taormina Film Festival, and he went into detail about all the things he felt elevated the first film that the sequel left by the wayside, only to fail because of those choices.

The biggest issue, in his opinion? The strong sense of morals and dedication to his character, Maximus, that he held firm to throughout filming Gladiator. “When we were shooting that film, there was a lot of pressure. The studio, the producers [thought] there should be sex between Maximus and the female characters. I kept pushing back,” Crowe said. And despite seeing the merits of a potential sex scene, director Ridley Scott had Crowe’s back, and the movie went forward without any intimate scenes between Crowe’s Maximus and co-star Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla.

It Was Gladiator‘s “Strong Moral Core” That Made the Film So Successful

And, according to Crowe, it was the lack of that same moral core that led to the failure of Gladiator 2. He elaborated, saying, “For them, in a second movie to destroy that moral center. It’s very interesting because the second movie barely took the same box office that the first movie took. That’s 20 years later. When you apply how much of a change there’s been in the value of a dollar, they failed. They failed because they didn’t understand why [the original movie] was successful.”

And when comparing the plots, with the first film being about a man, once a trusted and beloved general, now forced to be a common gladiator who will go to any lengths necessary to avenge the killing of his wife and child, to the sequel, which centers on the nephew of the first film’s antagonist, who must now enter the gladiatorial arena after his home is conquered by Roman emperors, it’s easy to see where Crowe is coming from with his stance. There was a poignancy to the first movie that wasn’t replicated in the second, leaving it to come off as a flimsy attempt to recapture lightning in a bottle, relying more on big names than on true narrative meat.

When asked who best understood the core of Gladiator, the actor gave a surprising answer: women. “That’s the thing a lot of people don’t realize: from the second week of release globally, there were always more women in the theaters than men. You think that on the surface Gladiator is a movie for men, but if it was a movie for men, it would be about revenge, but it’s not about revenge. It is a movie for women because it is about vengeance.” It seems like the film’s star really is the one who best understands the depth of its message.

What are your thoughts on the comparisons between Gladiator and Gladiator 2? Is Russell Crowe right about the “moral core” of the first movie being the main reason for its massive success? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the ComicBook forum to keep the conversation going with other fans.

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