In ‘Gladiator II,’ Ridley Scott Sifts Through the Past to See Our Future
Once more, the gates to the battlefield stand open. Within lies a tapestry of loyalty and deceit, power struggles and ideological clashes. Petitions are made to countless deities and ancestors as individuals – shaped by pilfered heritage, courage, territory, purpose, and self-image – anticipate their fate. Within those gates, where bloodshed and war loom, there’s a glimmer of hope – though it may be battered, bruised, and lying in the dirt – that persists in the struggle. This battlefield is Gladiator II, and Ridley Scott gazes upon the world as it marches onward, a chariot embodying all we might become.