Oliver Stone says Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II is “empty calories”

Oliver Stone wasn’t a big fan of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, calling the sequel “empty calories” compared to the first film.

I’m always curious to hear what filmmakers think of the work of their peers, and Oliver Stone recently chimed in with a few thoughts on Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II.

“It’s certainly watchable. It’s good, well made, usual tight Ridley film, but I didn’t care about the people. I wasn’t invested,” Stone said on the PBD Podcast. “The first one was a classic. The second one is empty calories, like a commercial product.” While Scott may not have won Stone over, he does have a fan in Christopher Nolan, who recently expressed his love for the Gladiator sequel.

One film which Stone did like this year was Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. “On a visual scale, it’s one stunning scene after another – beyond his Apocalypse, or his exotic One from the Heart,” Stone said. “As a narrative, many have knocked the film, and I cannot say I followed it completely, but enough to want to see it again, because I believe Francis was sincere in his exploration of a future, which is beyond what our society still doesn’t understand — that we can have a humanitarian society.“

“From legendary director Ridley Scott, Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome,” reads the official Gladiator II synopsis. “Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.”

Our own Chris Bumbray recently reviewed Gladiator II, and while he admits that it isn’t the instant classic the original was, “it’s nonetheless a highly entertaining, faithful sequel, jam-packed with action and spectacle. There hasn’t been a lavish, action-driven historical drama done on this scale in some time, with Scott, despite his advancing age, as energetic and kinetic a director as ever.” You can check out the rest of Bumbray’s review right here.