The 5 goriest scenes in Gladiator 2

Come for Mescal in a skirt; stay for the gruesome fights! Gladiator 2 is even more violent than its predecessor, and you have to be prepared for the blood.

If you’re going to watch a movie about men fighting to the death in ancient times, there’s probably going to be a lot of violence. If you didn’t expect that, I kindly recommend that you check out the original movie.

Director Ridley Scott has made it clear that he absolutely doesn’t care historical accuracybut his devotion to bloodshed has only increased twenty years later.

But is it necessary to look away? Do you need a sick bag? Do you see a little monkey in a toga looking at everything in the wings? See Gladiator 2’s bloodiest moments in all their glory. Warning, spoilers ahead.

Lucius bites a monkey

Paul Mescal with blood around his mouth in Gladiator 2

When Lucius begins to find his way as a gladiator, he Real throws caution to the wind. His first challenge under Macrinus’ thumb is to be thrust into a mini Colosseum full of CGI monkeys. The goal? To survive.

We watch other gladiators who want no part in what they signed up for, resigned to be ravaged by the apes and die. This is of course not the case for our hero. While his fellow humans attack the beasts with swords, Lucius opts for something more practical.

Or should I say…a little more word of mouth. Before the apes can create an impromptu Planet of the Apes remake, Lucius bites the neck of the ape that attacks him, killing him instantly. He looks up at the crowd covered in blood, and everyone is in shock.

Sure, it earns him some playground-style monkey chants from the other gladiators on the base, but it’s the first moment where Macrinus, the crowd, and the other soldiers truly fear him. Even if they don’t admit it, we see exactly what Maximus’ son could actually be capable of.

I must emphasize here for the RSPCA freaks among us: none of these apes were actually real, let alone died for the sake of a Ridley Scott sequel. However, it’s the first cross-eyed scene of many, and you can’t unhear the strange noises our would-be monkey makes on the way out.

Beheading in the Colosseum

At this point in the new movieMacrinus really begins to sink his claws into Lucius, using his blossoming talents as a pawn in his ascension to the throne.

After taking him to a private party to kill a gladiator for the amusement of the emperors, Lucius goes to the Colosseum for the first time. Together with a team of other soldiers, they must face an undefeated rival who makes his entrance on a rhino.

So standard stuff! With a quick thinking strategy, Lucius ensures that the rhino is riderless and wanders around like a clumsy teenager at a party. This means our nameless enemy is officially prey – and boy, does he meet his maker.

Enjoy epic and appropriately bloody action from Lucius and all the enslaved boys we fight for, culminating in the big moment. Using both his own and the rhino rider’s swords, he deftly swings them around to form the perfect X… right above the poor man’s head.

Unlike the scene originally teased in the trailer, we don’t go black when the sword makes contact with his neck. Instead, we see the entire beheading alongside the immediate reaction of the spectators. The audience is thrilled as his head rolls onto the floor like a bowling ball (all except Lucilla, who plays it as straight as Michael Caine in A Muppets Christmas Carol).

Again, it’s a scene where you’ll want to carefully time the consumption of your cinema snacks. Ridley is known for making action films on an epic level, and this means he never skimps on his violence. But even by his standards, it’s hard to see a man’s head coming off.

You probably didn’t notice the man’s name, but you certainly noticed his innards.

The death of Acacius

Pedro Pascal as Marcus Acacius in Gladiator 2

Time for our first real spoiler of the piece – Marcus Acacius, the beautiful Pedro Pascal, dies about halfway through the film. Following in the footsteps of Commodus, Geta and Caracalla cause Acacius and Lucius to fight each other after learning of his and Lucilla’s attempts to overthrow them.

At this point, Acacius has learned about Lucius’ past through Lucilla, but it is not until they start fighting that Lucius realizes he is on his side. Up until now, Lucius was convinced he had to kill Acacius, since he was responsible for burning Numidia to the ground (and killing his wife in the process… oops).

But no! Acacius is just a tool of the system, doing its best to resist cruelty, dammit! This message is somehow silently delivered amid their dance of the swords, causing Lucius to go against Geta’s order to kill in the final moments.

Instead, both men throw aside their weapons and kneel as a sign of defeat and conscientious objection. But that won’t satisfy a ruler hungry for violence, right? No! At Geta’s word, Lucius is spared while Acacius is peppered with arrows by the guards.

In no time he resembles an armored porcupine, left to die as the crowd begins to turn against Geta. After all, he just killed the man the people love! What’s even worse is Lucilla’s punishment: she is forced to watch her son or husband be murdered as penance for her involvement.

If you don’t like bloodshed with a bit of heartbreak, you’ll probably struggle through this scene. RIP, Acacius – daddy of the internet has become daddy of Rome.

Geta’s severed head

Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta in Gladiator 2

Of course, it doesn’t take long for Geta to get his karma. Macrinus is toiling in the background while all this bloodshed is in the foreground of the film, pitting the higher-ups against each other. This mainly means convincing the impressionable Caracalla to kill Geta – after all, Rome is looking for someone to blame for the unrest.

In a particularly weak moment, Macrinus gets what he wants, but it is not Geta’s death that is most disturbing. The next morning, his severed head is brought to the Senate as a means for Macrinus to establish his power… through Caracalla, of course.

While Macrinus waxes lyrical about the next steps for Rome, poor Derek Jacobi et al must look at the decaying head adorning a pillar as if it were a precious heirloom. It’s a sinister foreshadowing of where the film is going, but also downright disgusting.

Whether it’s Macrinus flamboyantly pulling his head out of a bag or the fact that the film has the longest running time, you won’t soon forget this scene – even in the middle of the fighting. To make matters even more bizarre, this is the same moment we see Caracalla name Dondas as his First Council.

Just to remind you: Dondas is a monkey.

The final massacre

In the last 20 minutes, sh*t has really hit the fan in ancient Rome. It’s Lucius versus Macrinus, and there can only be one winner.

In the name of establishing absolute power, Lucilla has been used as bait in the Colosseum, while defected members of the Senate (such as Gracchus) had to defend her. Of course, Macrinus’ henchmen are on their way to kill them all, but Lucius plans to rally the other gladiators to save the day.

It’s a plan that shouldn’t work since they’re all locked up, but he pulls it off. The army loyal to Acacius – and Maximus through his cooperation – discovers that Lucius is in trouble, but they are too far out of town to help immediately.

Lucius and his gladiators reach Macrinus’ plot first, and from there it’s all bloodshed. In fact following on from the first film, everyone dies… and they don’t just die quietly, they are viscerally murdered in excruciating detail. Lucius continues to sob over a dead Lucilla in the middle of a silent arena, and it’s sobering stuff.

But where is everyone, I hear you ask? Dead! That, or they’re on their way to meet Acacius’ army outside the walls of Rome. Macrinus is obviously nowhere to be seen, but by the time his army meets Acacius’s, it’s him against Lucius.

Cut to an incredibly dramatic mano-a-mano in a nearby stream, where Macrinus not only drowns, but also has his hand chopped off in the process. Ouch. That feels small compared to what we’ve already seen, but it’s a fitting (and puke-worthy) last hurray for Ridley’s house of visual horrors.

Gladiator 2 hits theaters on November 15 in the UK and November 22 in the US. Follow our character guide, why the sequel is hatedAnd when it takes place.

You can also view more stream new movies this month.