Russell Crowe on Gladiator 2: ‘They failed, and they failed because they didn’t understand what made the first film so successful: it had a moral core. Here’s the thing, most people want that. On the surface, they might go for entertainment, but if they’re going to love something and... keep it with them forever, like that movie? …The love for that thing is because of its moral core. All guys want to be that man who can stay that strong, and all women want a man who can love them in that way.’show more

The movie was resurrected for the intention of destroying that moral core. They're methodically going through every franchise and IP and destroying it intentionally as part of the social engineering agenda.

He’s absolutely bang on. And it IS indeed absolutely loved by audiences to this day , 26 years later. One of the greatest films ever made.

Absolutely true. They also had Denzel completely miscast, speaking in his natural Brooklyn accent plus about 1000 other issues. This movie was a huge mistake.

They keep pushing moral relativism and most people hate it.

Gladiator 2 may be the worst sequel to a movie in movie history.

Agree with Russell 100%. Gladiator did not need a sequel, especially one that was so horribly written.

Russell Crowe could not be more correct than what he said here. I don’t care what people say about him, I don’t care if he can be grumpy with fans, I am a fan of Russell Crowe and it’s not because I think he and I will be buddies one day but because I appreciate who he is and how he does it.

@Aristos_Revenge Holy based

Hollywood grabbing at straws because it's lost its sense of America and what it meant to entertain instead become political arm of the leftwing pumping out trashy content no one is really interested but a minority of freaks that have bad taste!

Courage, loyalty, vengeance and moral conviction is my kind of movie. I don’t want a soy latte flick, I want a strong brew that whips my head around and stays with me. Movies today do not have imagination or originality, you see & forget it. That’s why I read and am never bored.

Also, the baboons looked like PlayStation 3 enemies, and they squared off one-on-one with the humans like it was the Sharks vs. the Jets. I kept thinking Officer Krupke was going to show up.

We need virtuous heroes to look up to in our stories in order to have a society that produces virtuous heroes. There’s a place for stories of ethically questionable antiheroes in morally grey universes. But when it becomes the norm rather than the exception, people understandably seek something that inspires them again.

I did not even bother with the 2nd movie, there is no way you're topping the first.

He's right of course, his analysis is spot on. But what everyone fails to see is that Gladiator 2 was a intentionally a "Negation" of his movie. The failure of the movie was the point.

I never watched the second one. I only want the original to be in my memories. 😊

Have seen Gladiator over 20 times, turned off G2 after 20 minutes. Unwatchable.

I think he’s right. If we look at many successful stories, movies, or novels, they all have that moral core. We could pick The Godfather as an example where, even if in a twisted way, that core exists. But as a paradox, it’s in my view the reason why even simpler ones succeeded, like the Fast and Furious saga, where a moral core regarding family values is what matters.

Odd sequel. There really was no way to make a logical one, quite honestly. The original had a definite ending. Maybe they could’ve done a spinoff in the same world that started everything from scratch

Russell Crowe, so underrated. And an absolute champ for giving the time to let @TheCriticalDri2 interview him! If you haven’t seen the movie with Russell as an unhinged road rager, make sure you check it out!

Brilliant insight, Russell. Who could have possibly predicted that stripping out the moral core would make the movie feel empty? It's almost like they did it on purpose. Crazy how that works.

Moral core? Hollywood?

I don’t think there’s a single director who’s fallen further from the heights of his talent than Ridley Scott. Alien & Blade Runner are legit masterpieces. Legend & Gladiator - beloved classics. His last several films, though….yikes.

Y’all are weird. Gladiator 2 was quite good as far as sequels go, especially in this Marvel Slop era. It’s no Gladiator 1, but most people who say it enjoyed it.

First Gladiator movie was 26 years ago. Since, Hollywood has steadily declined. If you want to be considered for "Best Picture" eligibility at the Oscars (since 2024) you'd better follow their Representation & Inclusion rules. I'd rather make a great film then try for an Oscar.

Completely correct. This is a major flaw with all Hollywood’s films. They are bereft of morals so they are against anything that remotely comes close to implying moral good. They think it’s all about production value and forcing ideology.

I was hugely disappointed in gladiator 2. It should have been much better. The production and effects were top notch. The story just wasn’t at all interesting. Did we forget how to write a movie?

Yep, Russell's right. Films like Gladiator 2 lack the soul & values of the original. Same with tons of other remakes &sequels now. Originals stay in our heads because they had something meaningful to say about life, honor &loyalty

This is why the Disney Star Wars sequels do not work. There is no soul or moral core in their DEI movies. They suck.

Hollywood can no longer make movies with morals; it is against their nature. The only ones that ever did get made were funded by 1 crazy man with a vision

I like II better than I. Crowe and Joaquin crushed it but II was a toal cast effort of brilliance. Go ahead and make fun of me and calling me stupid. That movie in theaters was straight up electric. People are slaves to nostalgia. The moral character in question for Maximus wasn’t even serious in the movie as he is treated like a folklore hero. Most people got mad at this movie because it was peak race wars, that stupid No Church in the Wild song in the trailer dropped, I agree the song was a bad choice but this set off a racist storm of dudes laughing at Denzel, calling out the lack accent (what does a roman accent even sound like?), saying Denzel was playing same Alonzo character from training day, which waa straight up false. This was also peak Pedro Pascal hate. I have never seen so many negative factors come out to affect a movie’s roll out but this is what happened with Gladiator II. If people could wash away all that going into the film, they would have had a great time enjoying such a cinematic adventure.

Completely right. Even excluding the complete crapshoot of hiring Denzel to play a Spanish European. Good to see Russell has a strong core to him as well.

Hell yes.🙌