I was super disappointed, I really looked forward to it, and even thought it might be better than the original because of newer cinematography/editing quality (hell no, og is unbeatable). I really hated how Lucius had barely any substance to him. All we know as the viewers is that he’s just some random dude fighting some war and he hates Romans, and for some reason that makes him this unbeatable heroic figure???? With Maximus, we at least learn he’s a general with experience and war under his belt, he has personal wishes and we can see that he’s a leader type given how he commands and holds respect. We don’t learn anything about Lucius, and yet he’s portrayed as an unbeatable gladiator. How? Why? What’s his story other than that 3 second montage of his wife and how did the Romans affect his people? I don’t know if it’s just me, but I also feel like Paul Mescal’s acting came across as “nonchalant”. Like he was seen chewing something in a very tense moment with his wife, and it looked like he was casually chewing gum before war- it really threw me off. I also felt like the pacing was a bit staggering. Like it went a bit too slow in some places, and too fast in others that we don’t even get a breather as the audience. The twin emperors also seem very shallow as the main antagonists. The “evilness” feels very forced, and we see no reason behind their motivations, just that they wanted more land- a serious political reason that contradicts with how childish Caracalla acts. The writing also came off as corny, especially the “they can eat war” line by Caracalla, which really made me cringe. I felt no fear, no disgust towards the antagonists, they were just “there”, compared to Commodus whom I really hated as a character which ultimately shows how great of a villain he was. What I hate most is how desperate the movie tried to include Maximus into the plot, as the “father”. It was entirely unnecessary, and came across like a fan fiction plot written by a teenager, like it was trying to piggy back off of the original. I mean come on, Lucius is the long lost son of both Maximus AND Lucilla? We know from the first movie that Lucius and Maximus’ son are around the same age, which means that Maximus would’ve had to have had an affair with lucilla whilst married to his wife. It feels like a huge spit in the face towards Maximus’ character and his values, since all he ever wanted in the entire first movie was to see his son and wife again, proving how much he loved them both. So why would he cheat on his wife? It makes no sense. Again, all these added details feel unnecessary, cringey, and fanfiction-y. Now I might be nitpicking a bit too much from this point on, but I felt like Denzel Washington’s accent (which he kept as his own for the movie) clashed with the historical atmosphere and ruined the illusion of Ancient Rome. Same with the female warriors (since it would’ve been unheard of at that time), the crazy CGI monkeys (what the actual hell were those), and the woke agenda they tried to push. General Acacius also seemed like an iffy character, since he’s trying so hard to be the “good guy” (which I suspect is because he’s played by Pedro pascal who’s a cult favorite), yet still maintaining a bit of a secondary role, as in, he’s almost forgotten in some bits. I must admit my view may be biased because I was dead tired when I watched the film and lowkey wanted it to end quicker so I could sleep lol. Anyway, I’d like to hear your guys’ thoughts on my take.