Bored of Superheroes

Empress Matilda Ridley Scott is already talking up Gladiator III. Not necessarily a great idea, as there's not much story left there that hasn't already been explored, and there are so many other potential historical epics waiting to be made. Sticking with the Roman period, a sports film about chariot racers could work as a Gladiator spinoff. Chariot racing was actually far more popular and widely watched than gladiatorial combat in ancient Rome and it lends itself just as well to a cinematic interpretation. There's action, rivalries, danger, some tear-jerking moments with horses and the chance for someone to take on a good old-fashioned hero role.  There's also plenty more material to be had in the Crusader period. Not necessarily a sequel to Kingdom of Heaven, which ends quite satisfactorily, but another story from this lengthy and bloody period of history. Of course, this would have to be tackled in a politically sensitive way. Ghassan Massoud's portrayal of Sala...

Almost twenty-five years after the original, Ridley Scott has revived his Oscar-winning classic, Gladiator, with a new cast and a new story. Big sandals to fill, and does this big-ticket sequel do the business? As a rule, I'm not a fan of sequels, prequels or franchises. They encourage lazy storytelling and unsatisfying endings and there are too many of them. However, I made an exception for Gladiator, as it stars one of my favourite actors, Paul Mescal, and also because my mum wanted to come to the cinema with me for the first time since the 1990s. Both mum and I enjoyed the film and we agreed on the following. It really is best seen on a big screen; Scott's recreation of Rome is fantastically detailed, and the use of a 1:1 scale Colosseum set full of baying extras for the arena scenes really does makes it believable. It's a grand visual spectacle and the music, which includes Lisa Gerrard's classic Gladiator theme, is pretty good too. There's only so much you can ...