The reviews are rolling in for Gladiator II, which debuts in U.S. theaters on Friday, and the general consensus appears to be not a stadium-rousing hurrah, but a weary shrug — all the more disappointing since the sequel has been two decades in the making. Yes, it’s been 24 years since Ridley Scott’s original captured the hearts of moviegoers, along with five Oscar statuettes including Best Picture and Best Actor for Russell Crowe. Apparently a “serviceable” sequel is all the director has to show for it.
At least, that’s the word Variety’s Owen Gleiberman uses in his review. The full phrase is even more cutting: “a serviceable epic” (isn’t that an oxymoron?). Other critics came to similar conclusions, with Wendy Ide writing for The Observer that the new film is “so derivative of its predecessor, it’s practically a remake.” Even those who did give it four out of five stars — and you’ll find most of the positive reviews have their serious caveats — like Robbie Collin in The Telegraph, have one insurmountable criticism: Paul Mescal is no Russell Crowe. But you probably already knew that.
I’m not trying to dissuade you from seeing Gladiator II. Please, go support your local movie theater and buy a $20 popcorn-soda combo. If the early box office numbers are any indication, many of you will do just that (helped along no doubt by family turmoil at Thanksgiving that will get people in the mood for a little big-screen brawling). Instead, I’m here to offer a balm should you come away disappointed, or should you be feeling some premature ennui already, not just at Gladiator II’s critical reception, but at the increasing trend of movies and TV shows getting sequels and follow-up seasons after years of waiting — which only increases the chances of you, the viewer, being seriously let down. The expectations are just too high for anyone to meet them.
One exception to the rule? The return of Wolf Hall, a fictionalized historical drama featuring a stacked cast of best-in-the-business actors whose characters are all scheming their way to the top in elaborate costumes among sumptuous sets. The parallels to Gladiator are really quite astonishing, and that includes the chasm between the original and the sequel: Wolf Hall has recently returned to TV for its second season after the first aired back in 2015.
To be clear, this is a British production currently airing on the BBC, so while Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light has technically debuted, we won’t get it here in the States until the first of six episodes premieres on Masterpiece on PBS on March 23, 2025. Sorry, we’ve got a few months left to wait. But that’s okay, because despite the critical acclaim of the first season, there’s a good chance you never saw it a decade ago — so now’s the time to get acquainted.
For those in that camp, Wolf Hall is based on the late Hilary Mantel’s celebrated Thomas Cromwell trilogy, a series of novels that follow the blacksmith’s son’s rise to power — and eventual downfall — in the court of King Henry VIII. The first two books in the series, Wolf Hall (2009) and Bring Up the Bodies (2012), both won the Booker Prize and serve as the basis of the first season of the show. The story for the second season is drawn from the third and final novel, The Mirror and the Light (2020).
The bountiful dramatic feast offered by the first season is largely due to Mantel’s source material. Not only does she masterfully detail the machinations of Cromwell — heavily padding the historical record with her own inventions — but also Henry’s crusade to rid himself of his first wife Catherine of Aragon in favor of Anne Boleyn, and Anne’s own journey from power-hungry mistress to increasingly paranoid queen (turns out that paranoia is warranted!).
But director Peter Kosminsky and writer Peter Straughan, who adapted Mantel’s work for the screen, needed an adept cast to embody these fresh characterizations of well-known historical figures, and boy did they score big: Oscar-winning and three-time Tony-winning actor Mark Rylance plays an even-keeled and perspicacious Cromwell, Billions star Damian Lewis is Henry, and the inimitable Claire Foy is Anne. If you’re trying to figure out the calendar in your head: yes, Foy’s turn here as the short-lived Queen of England came right before she racked up awards as Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown. Once you catch up on Wolf Hall, you’ll wonder why the accolades didn’t come earlier.
“House of the Dragon” Falters, Leaving the Fantasy Throne Open for the Taking
A second season stuffed full of filler means “Rings of Power” or “The Wheel of Time” could nab the swords-and-sorcery crownTo compare it to a much more popular show, Wolf Hall’s creative success is built off many of the same pillars that helped Game of Thrones thrive: dense books full of brilliant details to mine for the screen, intrigue that keeps viewers switching allegiances as the story progresses, and pitch-perfect casting (even some of the same casting: Jonathan Pryce, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Anton Lesser and Mark Gatiss appear in both shows).
Yet the fervor surrounding other TV phenomena, like Game of Thrones, may have taken the wind out of the sails of Wolf Hall during its initial run. The George R.R. Martin juggernaut was dominating the conversation around prestige TV when Mantel’s adaptation premiered in 2015, and even those who preferred their bingeable dramas without gratuitous gore and nudity had other powerhouses to latch onto, as it was still the heyday of Downton Abbey for PBS fans and at the Emmys, HBO’s miniseries Olive Kitteridge won in every category where Wolf Hall received a nomination.
Yet, here we are almost 10 years later and Wolf Hall is still holding court. There’s no need to say “this actor is no Mark Rylance,” because most everyone from the first season is back for season two (except for the late, great Bernard Hill, who passed away in May, and Tom Holland, who’s busy being a megastar). All the reviews currently flooding the British press for The Mirror and the Light are breathless (“six hours of utter TV magic,” per Lucy Mangan in The Guardian). And the subject matter — the constant fighting for favor among those treading on the edges of power, and the breakneck speed at which advisors can become outcasts — remains as timely as ever.
There are plenty of buzzworthy new movies to seek out this holiday season (I’m a fan of the Gladiator II and Wicked double feature, if not the nickname “Glicked”), and plenty of new streaming options to watch while stuffing yourself with leftovers (the number one movie on Netflix right now is…Hot Frosty — welcome back, Christmas programming). However, should you be less interested in being bludgeoned with CGI and holiday cheer, I suggest signing up for PBS Passport and entering the halls of Henry VIII alongside Thomas Cromwell, a character that only needs a well-written turn of phrase to enchant you for hours.
If you are one of the lucky ones who did catch Wolf Hall back when it premiered, well, it’s high time you watched it again. After all, it’s been almost a decade; you’ll need to refresh yourself before the second season is finally bestowed upon us Americans. Only 123 days left. Not that I’m counting.
More Like This
This article was featured in the InsideHook newsletter. Sign up now.
