Gladiator II | 2024 | R | – 2.7.2

Why is “Gladiator II” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “strong bloody violence.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a few tender kisses, some nude male and female statues, many scenes of battles with swords, hand-to-hand combat, arrows, catapults and flaming vessels with blood and gore, many scenes of threats of violence and overthrow, discussions of insurrection, discussions of invasion, arguments about losing hope and freedom, and some mild obscenities. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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After the death of Maximus Aurelius, the new power-hungry Roman emperors try to prevent the populace from becoming restless by hosting ever more violent public spectacles. When a new gladiator (Paul Mescal) is brought to the city to fight in the Colosseum, his goal is to also fight the establishment. Also with Connie Nielsen, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Derek Jacobi, Yuval Gonen, Rory McCann, Peter Mensah and Matt Lucas. Directed by Ridley Scott. [Running Time: 2:28]

Gladiator II SEX/NUDITY 2

 – A man and a woman kiss and pronounce their love before entering into a battle. A husband and his wife kiss tenderly. A man and a woman kiss and are interrupted by horns being blown. A man kisses a woman’s hand. A man stands behind a woman as she leans forward to pour wine and he takes a suggestive posture.
► A young person (the gender is not clear) stands on a flight of stairs wrapped with a sheet (bare shoulders are visible) and it is implied that the person is nude and sex with an older man is suggested.
► A man talks about a 14-year-old girl becoming pregnant. Two men talk about another man and one says, “Females were not his taste.” A man kisses another man’s hands and cheeks while threatening him over a gambling debt. A man says of another man, “The disease that infects his loins has spread to his brain.”
► Female statues are seen with bare breasts. A male statue is seen with bare back and buttocks visible. Men are shown shirtless in many scenes and their bare chests, abdomens and backs are visible. A man sits in a tub and we see his bare upper chest and shoulders. Many women at a celebration wear low-cut and off-the-shoulder dresses that reveal cleavage and bare shoulders.

Gladiator II VIOLENCE/GORE 7

 – Many large sailing ships carrying armored fighters approach a shoreline where other fighters prepare to defend their fortress; they each launch flaming containers and we see flames spread through the ships and the fortress as people are struck and scream in flames, archers shoot their arrows and many people are struck and fall dead; the ships crash into the wall of the fortress and the drawbridge is lowered allowing the invading army to enter and fight with many defenders inside the fortress, as one man is pinned to a wall by a large spear like weapon (blood pours from the wound), a woman is struck in the chest by an arrow and falls off a wall into the sea below, and a man is struck in the back of the head and falls off a wall and into the sea; many people are killed with blood spurting and spraying and we later see bodies mourned over by their loved ones as the invading commander orders the bodies to be burned and they are set ablaze.
► Many men in chains enter a Colosseum where baboons charge and attack them (we see the animals’ large teeth); we see one man attacked and his throat is torn out by one animal (blood on the man’s throat and pooling on the ground is shown), the animal jumps on another man that bites its arm causing it to scream in pain, and strangles it to death with the chain on his wrists, other men are attacked and fight off the animals and we see bodies and blood on the ground; a man watching the action says about a fighter, “I’ll buy him.”
► Two men fight in front of two emperors and one of them orders that they use swords and “fight to the death”; the men fight throwing each other into a pillar and onto a table, one man is slashed on the arm with a sword (we see blood) and one man is stabbed in the abdomen (we hear a squish and he falls to the floor motionless); the man’s body is dragged out of the room leaving a thick smear of blood. Two men fight to test one man’s skill: one man uses a sword and they shove and throw each other, and one man is kneed in the abdomen and kicked and falls to the ground before another man ends the fight.
► Two men on horseback charge each other, they crash together and the men fall to the ground where they fight slashing each other with swords and kicking each other; one man is thrown into a river and they fight with one being held underwater, he lunges out of the water and slams the other man in the head with a rock knocking him back and then slashes the man’s hand off (we see it separate and blood pours), then his other hand is slashed and he is struck in the body and falls back into the water bleeding heavily and presumably dead.
► Many gladiators prepare for a battle on boats in a flooded Colosseum (acting out a battle between Romans and Persians) with sharks swimming in the water; they shoot arrows at each other, men fall into the water and are attacked by the sharks (the water fills with blood), one ship broadsides the other, breaking its oars, then rams it throwing men into the water and others fight with swords, the ship rams into the stands and a man with a crossbow takes aim at another man and the arrow nearly hits him. Many gladiators stand in a Colosseum as another rides into the area on a rhinoceros’ back, the man on the rhino charges toward the other men and slashes them with a sword, one man is tripped by a thrown weapon and falls on the ground, another man runs away from the rhino and is gored and thrown into a wall (we see blood spurt, smear on the wall and blood remains on the animal’s horn); one man throws sand into the air as the animal charges causing it to slam into a wall and the rider is thrown to the ground; the two men fight with swords an axe and physical throws; one man is thrown and an emperor declares “mercy” and the man declares that he will not accept mercy and stabs the other man through the chest, then cuts his head off with two swords (we see blood gush and the head separates and falls to the ground with a lot of blood). Many armed men march through streets and are ambushed and shot by archers in the shadows; one man is left standing.
► A man enters a Colosseum and his wife is shackled to a chair to watch him fight four other men that are each struck down and stabbed (blood spurts and sprays). Two men fight with throws, slashes of swords and kicks; one man falls to his knees and drops his sword to surrender and the other man follows suit; one man is shot repeatedly by archers in the stands and he falls dead. A man holds a sword and threatens another man, he slashes his hand (we see blood) and the injured man tries to calm him; a third man enters the room and pushes the sword in the first man’s hand to stab the other man in the throat several times and then in the chest killing him (we see the dead man’s severed head later with blood at the neck and in his mouth). Many men held in cells break out, attack guards killing many with swords (blood gushes), and one guard is stabbed through the throat with a wooden sword as he gurgles blood. A man pushes a nail deep into another man’s ear and blood pours from his ear as he falls dead.
► Crowds of people in stands protest a death in the Colosseum and archers take aim at them and shoot some of them. Opening credits include animated sequences of people with and without armor fighting using swords and blood spurts from the slashed, and one man is stabbed in the foot and another in the chest as people cheer in the background; a man raises his hand and holds his thumb down ordering the death of a gladiator. A woman is wheeled on a platform into a Colosseum where a man pronounces her to be murdered and we see a man near the platform slashed on the throat (blood gushes); the woman is shot in the chest by an arrow (we see blood on her dress). Many bodies float in the sea after a battle and a man holds his wife’s body and snaps off the arrow that is through her chest. A man has visions while unconscious of his wife crossing the river Styx in a boat. A dead body is carried out of a Colosseum by many men lined up in a procession.
► Many prisoners of war are branded and we see the burned flesh and hear a sizzle as the hot iron presses into their skin. A man has a badly wounded arm and we see a gaping and bloody wound as a man bandages it. Many men are taken in horse-drawn carts to a Colosseum, they are pelted with trash and food as they pass many people lining the path, they are taken out of the carts and we see that their hands are chained. A man has an open slash on his arm and another man treats and stitches it saying that more people die from infections than anything else (we see the needle passing through the flesh and the man winces); the doctor bites the thread when the stitching is finished causing the injured man to flinch and the injured man is given opium to smoke to help with the pain. Many men train and use a rowing machine to prepare for fights; one man is left to row alone and we see him grunting and pulling for many hours and his hands are bloodied; a doctor pours vinegar on the wounds causing him to flinch.
► A man and a woman lace each other into their armor before reporting for a battle against approaching Roman ships. Horns are blown in a fortress compound, calling fighters to report to fight an invading army. Boys play ball in a clearing and many men on horseback ride toward them; one boy runs away and a woman tells him that he must leave and never let them find him. An emperor declares his wish to invade Persia and India, and when the commander seems reluctant, the emperor holds a sword to his throat and we see a trickle of blood.
► A man declares, “I claim this city for the glory of Rome,” after an invasion and battle. A man describes an invading force as “leaving destruction and calling it peace.” People discuss arresting the emperors and restoring power to the senate. A man yells for a woman to leave when she visits him in a cell. People talk about wanting fair law. A man swings a sword and yells, “I will gut him.” A man yells in grief after the death of his wife. A man says of another man, “The disease that infects his loins has moved to his brain.” Men tease another man saying, “He eats monkeys” and later make screeching sounds to mock him. A man inspects prisoners and tells one man, “You have worms.” A man says, “This city is diseased.” A young man complains that his twin tried to cut off his air in the womb.
► Crowds of people cheer in the crowded stands of a Colosseum during gladiator games. Crowds of people gather and cheer a commander after returning to Rome victorious; the parade enters a Colosseum to celebrate the victory. A tiny monkey skitters around a man’s shoulders and seems to be frightened. An emperor appoints a monkey to be his counsel. People plan the assassination of a woman and a man.
► A rhino’s decapitated head is shown on a buffet table surrounded by food. People are shown to have what is likely to be leprosy and have lesions on their faces. We see a statue of a she-wolf suckling twin boys on a gate into a city.

Gladiator II LANGUAGE 2

 – 5 mild obscenities, name-calling (pottie, barbarians, vagrants, spies, thieves, Christian traitor, betrayer), 1 religious profanity (GD), 4 religious exclamations (e.g. thank the gods, let the gods decide his fate). | profanity glossary |

Gladiator II SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man smokes opium while having a wound stitched. People drink wine in several scenes, people drink wine with meals, people drink wine at games in Colosseums, and two men drink wine and appear inebriated.

Gladiator II DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Greed, aggression, the Roman Empire, rage, fury, vanity, tyranny, freedom, home, divine justice, strength and honor, destiny, treason, retribution, gambling, debt, truth, betrayal, insurrection, loyalty, politics, power, bravery.

Gladiator II MESSAGE

 – What we do in life echoes in eternity.