The face of the original Gladiator has officially weighed in on the modern iteration of the iconic epic, Gladiator II.
Russell Crowe, who catapulted to international stardom following his portrayal of protagonist Maximus in the 2000 film, has shared his thoughts on – and criticism of – its recent sequel.
In an interview with Triple J, the Aussie actor, 61, made blunt comments about the film, outlining where he believed it fell short.
Watch the video above.
“[It] is a really unfortunate example of the people in that engine room [the filmmakers] not actually understanding what made the first one special,” Crowe reflected.
The actor even went as far as refusing to utter the name of the recent addition, referring to it only as “the recent sequel that we don’t have to name out loud.”
He went on to say the original film’s success stemmed largely from the unimpeachable virtue of its main protagonist, rather than the big-budget special effects featured in its 2025 Ridley Scott sequel.
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“It wasn’t the pomp, it wasn’t the circumstance, it wasn’t the action – it was the moral core.”
He revealed it was a constant battle on-set to maintain the morality of the character, as the creative direction of the acclaimed flick often risked straying into murky waters.
The writers and directors of the film often pushed for the married character of Maximus to enter relationships with other female characters.
“The amount of times they suggested sex scenes and stuff like that for Maximus, it’s like, you’re taking away his power,” Crowe recounted.
“There was a daily fight on that set to keep the moral core of that character.”
The star then admitted he’d been “approached at restaurants” by women in Europe demanding answers from him regarding the sequel film’s notably flashier creative direction.
“The women in Europe, when that movie started coming out… they’d come and talk to me [about Gladiator II] and be like, ‘What’s going on?'”
“It wasn’t me, I didn’t do it!” he said he joked in response.
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While Gladiator II achieved a successful box office run, thanks in part to performances from big names Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal critics largely criticised the film for lacking the emotional depth of its predecessor.
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Many stated its overreliance on CGI and entertainment value over depth resulted in a failure to connect with wider audiences.
Crowe has previously made comments about the new film, hinting at his discomfort and “mixed feelings” over the direction film execs chose to take.
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