What do critics think of the premiere of 'Gladiator II'?

Just a few days ago the world premiere of 'Gladiator II', sequel to the successful film from 2000 that will have its premiere in our country this coming Friday, November 15. The initial response from critics to this new directorial adventure from Ridley Scott was really positive, leading to notable scores on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic. The film is mainly being hailed as “Scott's comeback”, as his previous film, 'Napoleon' (2023), was a disappointment to much of the critics. So people like GamesRadar+'s Kelechi Ehenulo comments: “It's far from his best work, but Scott's return to form is notable, proving that he still has the cinematic power to visually engage and thrill audiences. If you're having fun? Well, Scott still has the magic.” For her part, Maureen Lee Lenker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: “Like its predecessor, what elevates Gladiator II in the cinematic realm is the way its themes and dialogue underpin its grandiose spectacle. David Scarpa's script is also fiercely intelligent.” According to The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey: “Gladiator 2 is all hype at times. To insist that it shouldn't be is to cling too tightly to the harsh expectations of a 21st-century blockbuster. It has a modern perspective, but it also offers a throwback to florid history of the genre”. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised, among other things, the performances of Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus and Denzel Washington as Macrinus: “This is a sequel that is not afraid to get its hands dirty. The gladiator scenes, which are of utmost importance , have the right hallucinatory quality, reenacting a naval battle in the flooded sand or kicking the scaly butt of an enormous rhinoceros.” At the time of writing this article, 'Gladiator II' has an approval rating of 77% after 113 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, while on Metacritic its average is 67 out of 100 after 34 reviews. While we're talking about good numbers, the real test for the sequel will be when it hits theaters.

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