‘Are You Not Entertained?!’ Christopher Nolan Geeked Out With Gladiator II Praise Like Only Christopher Nolan Can

With less than two weeks to go until the year is over, there’s been a lot of looking back at what was released on the 2024 movies schedule, particularly when it comes to the best of the best in the way of cinematic offerings. Alas, director Christopher Nolan didn’t provide any big screen entertainment this year, having already taken the film-loving world by storm with Oppenheimer last year, and currently getting his next movie underway, which will star Matt Damon, Tom Holland and Zendaya, among others. That said, he did geek out about Gladiator II like only Nolan could: with intelligent analysis. Not surprising, right?

Variety asked Nolan and other big-time directors to pick their favorite movies of 2024, and the Inception and Tenet helmer selected Ridley Scott’s latest feature, which arrived 24 years after the first Gladiator movie, which earned five Academy Awards and nominations in seven other categories. Nolan started off praising the Gladiator sequel with these words:

In Ridley Scott’s first ‘Gladiator,’ Maximus asks us, ‘Are you not entertained?’ and we’re confronted with the truth of why we’d visit the Colosseum through a movie. Scott knows we’re not there for insights into Roman culture; we’re there to see our own dark desires at a comfortable remove. But he’s far too experienced a director to get caught making parallels with our time. He lets the world of ‘Gladiator II’ speak for itself, once again showing us who we are simply by inviting us to enjoy the crazy inflationary ride. Why are there sharks in the coliseum? Because we demand them, and Scott masterfully gives them to us. 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.

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