Paul Mescal enters the arena in Ridley Scott's swords-and-sandals sequel, Gladiator II. Read the Empire review now.

Denzel Washington and Pedro Pascal also star in the sequel that brings superb spectacle and storytelling in equal measure.

Pedro Pascal and Paul Mescal face off in "Gladiator II." Credit: Paramount Pictures Reteaming with Napoleon and All The Money ...

Gladiator, released in 2000 and currently at the bow of a ... In one corner, we have Paul Mescal’s Lucius Verus, son of ...

The Verdict: Gladiator II works best when it leans on extravaganza. The arena combat is clean, coherent, and full of jaw-dropping moments, as Scott’s recent addiction to big epic battle sequences ...

In Gladiator II, Mescal plays Lucius Verus, the estranged son of noblewoman Lucilla (Connie Nielsen, reprising her role from the first film) and nephew of the odious emperor Commodus, played in the ...

One of those killed is the soldier wife of farmer-turned-troop-leader Lucius Verus (Mescal), which sends him into a momentary tailspin of despair. That stands in marked contrast to the primal wound ...

Rome teeters on the brink in Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II.” Its fall is said to be imminent. The dream it once symbolized is ...