--- title: Gladiator II Belongs to Denzel description: Gladiator II shows what a great actor like Denzel Washington can do when he’s set free to have fun, to laugh at himself a little bit canonical: https://time.com/7178473/gladiator-ii-denzel-washington/ author: Stephanie Zacharek article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-11-22T15:58:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:51:48.924Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: Gladiator II Belongs to Denzel og:description: Gladiator II shows what a great actor like Denzel Washington can do when he’s set free to have fun, to laugh at himself a little bit og:url: https://time.com/7178473/gladiator-ii-denzel-washington/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbfc366ba636cadb4/698a9c6d16d8841be6c45bdf/denzel2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Gladiator II og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Gladiator II Belongs to Denzel twitter:description: Gladiator II shows what a great actor like Denzel Washington can do when he’s set free to have fun, to laugh at himself a little bit twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbfc366ba636cadb4/698a9c6d16d8841be6c45bdf/denzel2.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _Gladiator II_ Belongs to Denzel  by [Stephanie Zacharek](/author/stephanie-zacharek/)  ## Stephanie Zacharek Film Critic Nov 22, 2024 3:58 PM CUT  Denzel Washington plays Macrinus in Gladiator II Denzel Washington plays Macrinus in Gladiator IICourtesy of Paramount Pictures  by [Stephanie Zacharek](/author/stephanie-zacharek/)  ## Stephanie Zacharek Film Critic Nov 22, 2024 3:58 PM CUT The pleasures of [Ridley Scott’s](https://time.com/archive/6679076/10-questions-for-ridley-scott/ "undefined") _Gladiator II_ are numerous: There’s Paul Mescal as scrappy gladiator Lucius, bent on kicking as much Roman ass as possible. [Pedro Pascal](https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2023/6269821/pedro-pascal/ "undefined") is a stalwart general who realizes with regret that he’s sacrificed his own morals for the [glory of Rome](https://time.com/6317735/men-roman-empire-mary-beard-history/ "undefined"). The ever-regal Connie Nielsen returns, from the first film, as Lucilla, daughter of the late Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who’s dismayed that her father’s ideals have been betrayed by the current emperors of the republic, a duo of cretinous brothers played by Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger. Even if _Gladiator II_ is essentially an unapologetic retread of its predecessor, all of these actors are fun to watch—though none stands taller, literally or figuratively, than [Denzel Washington](https://time.com/3429647/denzel-goes-old-testament/ "undefined"), as slave-turned-schemer Macrinus. A little Shakespeare, a little vaudeville, Denzel’s Macrinus keeps the movie spinning. Arrayed in a seemingly endless wardrobe of silken robes and more groovy brutalist pendant necklaces than a ’60s swinger, he blesses the movie with generous dashes of elegance and kitsch. “What’s your native language?” he asks the recently captured warrior Lucius upon their first meeting, before adding gallantly, “I speak them all.” You don’t doubt it for a minute. _Gladiator II_ is OK when Denzel’s off-screen, but sensational when he’s on it. (It feels disrespectfully unspecific to call Denzel by his surname. There are so many Washingtons; there’s only one Denzel.) What makes the performance great is its insouciance; it’s both precise and feather-light. And it’s what a great actor can do when he’s set free to have fun, to laugh at himself a little bit. Greatness doesn’t always mean grandness—sometimes mischievous agility has greater value. Denzel’s Macrinus is gravitas and comic relief in one package. And his performance is a sterling example of how an actor can own a movie without sabotaging it, opening space for his fellow actors even as he rules his own golden corner of it. **Read more:** [_The 100 Best Movies of the Past 10 Decades_](https://time.com/collection/100-best-movies/ "undefined")  Denzel Washington's Macrinus is a little bit Shakespeare, a little bit vaudeville Courtesy of Paramount Pictures It almost feels like a disservice to call Denzel one of our greatest living actors. That makes him sound monolithic and predictable, as if he has so often fulfilled—or surpassed—our expectations that he’s no longer capable of surprising us. Denzel _has_ been great, in pictures like Spike Lee’s [_Malcolm X,_](https://time.com/collection/100-best-movies/6296084/malcolm-x-1992/ "undefined") in Joel Coen’s _Macbeth,_ in [Antoine Fuqua’s](https://time.com/3969267/southpaws-terrific-punch/ "undefined") _Training Day,_ in Norman Jewison's _The Hurricane_. But he’s capable of great lightness as well as heavy, somber roles; his versatility only burnishes the glow around him. In _Gladiator II,_ he both summons his majestic powers and jabs at them with the agility of a boxer. And though Macrinus—brilliant, conniving, vain—is nothing like the characters Denzel played earlier in his career, this performance calls back to his breezy charm in movies like Carl Franklin’s _Out of Time_ (2003) and _Devil in a Blue Dress_ (1995), or Mira Nair’s _Mississippi Masala_ (1991). An actor’s reputation can sometimes feel like a heavy yoke; in _Gladiator II,_ Denzel tosses it off and has a blast, taking the audience with him. This is one performance you don’t want to watch at home, alone. You’ll want to see how Denzel works his magic with a crowd, preferably a big one. How can you deprive yourself of the big-screen vision of Denzel, with his mighty squinting smile, his silver dusting of hair, striding onto the scene while swirling an opulent brocade cloak around his sturdy frame? (No one swirls a cloak like Denzel.) As Macrinus surveys Lucius’ wiry biceps and surly demeanor, sizing him up for the arena, he spins out one of the movie’s most ridiculous lines, a kind of outrageous-on-purpose phony-baloney Shakespeare: “Rage pours out of you like milk—from a whore’s tit. You’ll be quite the fighter!” He knows how loopy the line is, and rides it like a Tilt-a-Whirl. When one of the idiot emperors asks him, slyly, if he might not be angling for a powerful position on the senate, he demurs with velvety faux modesty. “No,” he asserts convincingly, “I don’t even know how to use an abacus.” And he wraps up a speech outlining his outsized ambitions with a great show-biz capper: “That, my friend, is politicssssssss!” he purrs, turning that final sibilance into a serpent’s hiss. It’s intense, it’s nutso, it’s fabulous. We should remind ourselves, though, that Denzel has always had a huge capacity for delight. Perhaps you remember his appearance on _Letterman_ in early 2008 when, after finishing his own segment, he chose to remain onstage so he could meet another of David Letterman’s guests that evening. That guest was Don Rickles, the late, great comedian who wrought garden-variety putdowns into miniature works of art. Denzel beamed as Rickles hit the stage and wrapped him in a bear hug (or three). Then Rickles sat in the chair between Denzel and Letterman and proceeded to roast the latter mercilessly, for Denzel’s benefit. Denzel didn’t just laugh at every joke; the sound coming from his mouth was more like a schoolboy’s giggle. He sat quietly, rapt in the presence of a guy he’d clearly loved since he was a kid. Denzel is very serious about his craft, and perhaps about himself. But his well of inner joy may be the secret ingredient of his success. In _Gladiator II,_ he revels in Macrinus’ pure, calculating ambition as if it were a bubble bath. 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