It will be a big weekend at the box office, with the release of highly anticipated films Wicked And Gladiator II.

Both films promise big, exciting stories, stunning special effects, and compelling performances from an all-star cast. But will the excitement of the action and the legacy of the first film be enough to push Gladiator II up ?

Today on Hustlecritics Hoai-Tran Bui, Rad Simonpillai and Jackson Weaver join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated sequel and whether it lives up to the original.

We’ve included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, including review of the new Wicked movie, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favorite podcast player.

WATCH | Today’s episode on YouTube:

Elamine: Rad, you have the honor of kicking off. Does this movie work for you?

Rad: Um, no, that’s not the case…. I think it works pretty well as a rehash meant to sell popcorn. I don’t think Ridley Scott’s heart was in it. I mean, the guy feels like he was dragged into this by fans who were demanding a Gladiator suite, and he said, “Okay, fine.” – just sort of a rehash of the plot of the original. The original Maximus character is now basically split in two, between Paul Mescal’s character and Pedro Pascal’s character: one being the vengeful gladiator, the other being the war-weary general. You kind of have the same stacked deck of cards, the only variable here being Denzel Washington’s character kind of keeps us on our toes.

The movie actually throws a lot more on screen – a lot more CGI, like CGI monkeys, CGI rhinos, CGI sharks. All of this is bloodless and there is a lack of stakes. I don’t feel any conviction in anyone telling the story, nor in any of the actors who will try to convey the emotions. I think the big thing I’m missing is the directing, because remember, if we’re talking about the original GladiatorIt was all about staging.

Elamine: “Aren’t you amused?” and so on.

Rad: Yeah, it’s Maximus who learns to endear himself to the public. It’s about him swinging swords in really cool ways and forming diamonds and stuff. There was a real orchestration of all this. There was a real investment in the directing, and the only person who got that memo in this film was Denzel. He puts on a show. Everyone is kind of in their shadow.

Elamine: Hoai-Tran, you recently rewatched the original Gladiator. How did you feel watching the sequel?

Hoai-Tran: I understand the criticism, and I don’t think it quite lives up to the original. But have you thought about that Gladiator II is it great?

Elamine: Come in!

Hoai-Tran: I think there is a sense of spectacle. I think the absurd, over-the-top sequences you have with the sharks in the Colosseum are exactly the kind of absurd popcorn spectacle I’d like to see in a blockbuster movie these days. And I disagree with the idea that Ridley Scott’s heart isn’t in it, because the man is 86 years old. I don’t think he does anything he doesn’t want to do, and I feel like he wanted to get back to Gladiator II. And yes, it’s a reprise of the first one – sometimes in painfully obvious ways, notably in Paul Mescal’s performance – but I think Ridley Scott brings a very different approach to this sequel in his later years of his career.

There’s a nastiness, an ugly streak of violence, and also a kind of dark humor in his films that we’ve seen in films like The last duel And Napoleonthat I think it brings to Gladiator II. It’s a much more hardened and cynical film, and perhaps that’s why there’s a little less of that sincere showmanship that we see in the first one. But I appreciate it. I think he’s just 80 years old and saying, “I don’t care what people think. I’m just going to do what I want – and also let Denzel chew the scenery.”

You can listen to the entire discussion of today’s show at CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts.

Panel produced by Jean Kim.