Almost There: Denzel Washington in "Gladiator II"
Tuesday, February 4, 2025 at 4:30PM 
The 97th Academy Award nominations weren't marked by many high-profile snubs. Sure, a few critical darlings failed to secure AMPAS' approval, but their absence didn't come off as a shock. Even so, as in every year, some folks came close to a nomination but likely ended up as sixth or seventh on the ballot. For the next few weeks, the Almost There series is making a comeback to celebrate those very contenders. Like last season, I'll pick one performance from each acting category, starting with Best Supporting Actor. And though Clarence Maclin probably came close to the Oscar nod with Sing Sing, let's consider another alternative – Denzel Washington's villainous turn in Gladiator II…
Twenty-six minutes into Ridley Scott's vaguely redundant sequel to his Best Picture winner from 2000, Denzel Washington walks into the story as Macrinus, a former slave who gained his freedom and now runs a stable of gladiators. His first scene finds him as an observer, witnessing Paul Mescal's Hanno fighting against a band of vicious baboons to the crowd's rejoicing. Though the edit doesn't privilege him throughout the set piece, Washington still grabs your attention and makes every minute count, putting forward an arresting idea of Machiavellian calculation mixed with more modern mercenary instincts.
He's a New York crime lord displaced from some pulpy tale into a time of swords and sandals. Indeed, the entire performance feels awfully 21st-century, leaning on the mannerisms and persona Washington has perfected in some of his most memorable roles over the decades. I don't say this as a negative critique, mind you. Ridley Scott isn't interested in historical accuracy or even its pretense. He regards the past as a plaything more than some material specificity to be honored or, heaven forbid, recreated. Moreover, what one tends to think of as period-appropriate acting isn't related to reality either.
British accents and 20th-century poshness – the de facto signifiers of costume drama stylings – would be as alien to Ancient Rome as what the two-time Oscar winner is bringing to the proceedings. In that regard, Washington's disregard for the proper way to do things is more authentic than not and unpretentious as can be. More importantly, it's effective. From his entrance, he savors every line and ominous look, exuding self-satisfaction so palpable as to be obscene. He's showboating but never straining, dominating scenes with an insouciant ease that seldom produces something as unbecoming as a tensed muscle or a belabored line.
It's difficult to take one's eyes away from Washington, so disruptive is he within the film's dramatic cosmos, yet as magnetic as a screen star can be. Look at how he carries himself, preening in expensive fabrics, fiddling with rings and bracelets like he's always gloating to himself about the riches accumulated, the power consolidated, the influence accrued over years of Roman backroom dealings. Consider how he often leans forward, a show of aggressive authority over those he confronts, a paternalistic movement. The same gestures could read self-conscious if misinterpreted, but Washington makes it all feel coherent and natural. Not that he's naturalistic, of course. Instead, the actor plays to the cheap seats and gives himself over to the pleasures of scenery-chewing, Old Hollywood-esque theatrics and movie star antics.
This is performance as spectacle, characterization as a means to entertain rather than challenge or inspire reflection. Some might call it shallow. I call it just right, because Gladiator II is closer to the circus than high drama with a great many things to say about the world and Denzel Washington seems like the only cast member who has realized it. Even more importantly, he knows what the movie needs. So, at first, he's all about that gravitational pull, the style and the joys of a moustache-twirling villain. One who doesn't even bother to hide his hunger or ill intentions, always apparent beneath the toothy grins and outward deference to the twin emperors Geta and Caracalla.
Nevertheless, there's more there than just surface-level dazzlement. Because, like Peter Ustinov, Charles Laughton, and Laurence Olivier in Roman epics of times past, Wahington weaves some human complexity into his characterization. Not in a way that would contradict the text's baseline simplicity, but enough to give it oomph, elevate it, and make it punchier than it would be in the hands of a lesser showman. Remember those calculating looks when deciding to buy Hanno? As the tale unravels, taking both men to Rome and the Colosseum, the peacock smugness becomes something altogether nastier.
It's a fury hot enough to burn down empires, resentments nurtured and tended to, used as fuel to destructive ambitions, violent predilections. In other words, Washington may clown around, but he never lets the audience dismiss Macrinus as a clown. Instead, he's a livewire threat, a powder keg ready to explode at a minute's notice who'll bring down the entire world with him if needs be. Consider his scene with Connie Nielsen's Lucilla at the woman's home. Regard the hollow pleasantries and illusory warmth, the fake smile so fake it feels like a provocation if not a mockery. Can you hear that? It's a viper's hiss before it strikes.
Gladiator II's Macrinus has very little to do with the historical figure of Marcus Opellius Macrinus. But, like him, Washington's character rises to power and sees to the death of Caracalla. History speaks of a conspiracy built on Macrinus' station as a praetorian prefect, but Scott tells it like one man's revenge against Rome. Washington follows suit, instilling every lie and promise, every violent act, every surge of bloodthirsty euphoria and shared wisdom, with emotion. In other words, there's no coldness to this monster even when he projects desinterest, no distance between him and his victim, him and the audience. It feels personal in a way more easily associated with melodrama than action epics.
As ever, Washington's instincts prove true and it's fair to say the movie would be a whole of a lot better if his co-stars had followed his lead. Hell, Scott should have followed his lead. He should have abandoned the po-faced seriousness and indulged in the quasi-camp venom of Macrinus's manipulations of Geta, all hollow sympathies with a cruel kicker. He should have had as much fun as Washington embodies when his mercenary devil gets to tell the Senate what to do while using Joseph Quinn's severed head as a prop. He should have learned how to negotiate between silliness and gravitas. He should have had the good sense to heighten the brutality of the last act, to go for broke on mean-spirited messiness. Because, even when it all falls apart, Washington is forever watchable, blockbuster entertainment in human form.
Before the review embargo fell on Gladiator II, Denzel Washington was riding a wave of pre-release buzz that made many predict him as the Best Supporting Actor frontrunner. Then, the critics spoke their truth, and the entire project was knocked off its place of honor as a top contender. In the end, Washington was nominated for the Golden Globe and the Critics Choice Award, plus a handful of regional critics honors. His biggest wins came from the Las Vegas journalists and the UK Film Critics Association. SAG and BAFTA didn't nominate him, and neither did AMPAS. Instead, the Oscars lineup includes Yura Borisov in Anora, Kieran Culkin in A Real Pain, Edward Norton in A Complete Unknown, Guy Pearce in The Brutalist, and Jeremy Strong in The Apprentice. We'll find out who wins on March 2nd, but, right now, Culkin's is the season's frontrunner.
Gladiator II is streaming on Fubo TV, MGM+, and Paramount Plus. You can also rent it from Amazon Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Flix Fling, Plex, Spectrum On Demand, and the Microsoft Store.
Reader Comments (3)
His most entertaining performance in years,he livens up a silly film but it would have been a throwaway nomination and the category is a lot better off without him.
Yes, especially since Macrinus became emperor for a year (until his own execution) after the murder of Caracalla.
The supporting category would be even better if the Best Actor nominees were Brody, Chalamet, Craig, Culkin (or Stan) and Domingo, and Washington or Maclin or Eydelshteyn had made it into supporting.