Turns out Christopher Nolan wasn’t any less entertained by Gladiator II. In fact, he picked the sequel as his favorite film of 2024 in a new Variety feature, praising Ridley Scott for “once again showing us who we are simply by inviting us to enjoy the crazy inflationary ride.”
Beginning his written breakdown, Nolan hearkened back to the original and explained part of its greatness was Scott knowing “we’re there to see our own dark desires at a comfortable remove” without “making parallels with our time.”
“Why are there sharks in the Colosseum? Because we demand them, and Scott masterfully gives them to us,” Nolan wrote about Gladiator II, which he believes succeeded by once again putting a mirror to society: “As he reveals how the games are used to manipulate public opinion, we can’t help but see shadows of our own public arena projected onto the sand.”
Nolan continued by lauding Scott’s ability to balance …