Nov. 22 saw the release of “Gladiator II”; the sequel to the critically acclaimed “Gladiator” that was released in 2000. After the resounding success of the first movie, people were skeptical when they learned that a sequel was in the works 24 years later. Many believed that the first movie did not leave any room for a sequel, so they were surprised that they were trying to continue the franchise a long time after the first movie. 

One interviewee said: “Just the one was fine, it felt like it had an ending already.” 

Despite all of this, the trailers looked promising and people cautiously hoped that the movie would live up to the legacy of the original. The original actor for Lucius (the main character) was planned to be Spencer Treat Clark, who played Lucius as a kid in the first movie; however, they ended up recasting him in favor of Paul Mescal because they wanted Lucius to look younger.

Nov. 22 finally came and people flocked to theatres to see the movie, which made $320 million on its opening weekend. Critic and audience reviews were mixed but mostly positive. “Gladiator II” achieved a 71% on Rotten Tomatoes and got generally positive audience reviews. The movie was further bolstered because it came out around Thanksgiving with other popular movies, which attracted even more people to the theatre.

The student body here at Herrin High School was surveyed on how they felt about the movie and 58.3% felt neutral about the movie, with 20.8% percent of people responding that their favorite part of the movie was the plot or soundtrack, such as one respondent, who said: “It had a very good plot.”  

Overall “Gladiator II” managed to defy expectations and was a good sequel to an amazing original.