Gladiator 2’s CGI Sharks & Monkeys Were Really Shocking

Gladiator II surpassed its predecessor in sheer spectacle, but in doing so surprised moviegoers with the level of CGI used, and some of the most distracting bits related to the animals involved in the arena. As the now-adult Lucius Verus fights his way across several locations in the Roman Empire, he finds himself embroiled in a number of different types of gladiatorial combat. Lucius participates in everything from a naval battle in the Colosseum to a mini-battle against a band of deadly baboons, all of which require copious CGI to properly depict on the big screen.

This is hardly unusual for a modern blockbuster, even one (loosely) rooted in historical fact from one of the masters of practical battle effects, Ridley Scott. However, as reports of a steadily ballooning budget for Gladiator II rolled in, it became reasonable to expect copious VFX to have played a hand in it. Some of the most heavily-CGI’d scenes in the movie involved animals, and unfortunately the CGI used wound up distracting to many viewers, especially next to all the gritty practical effects work that accompanied it.

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Why Gladiator 2’s Shark & Monkey CGI Looks Like That

The CGI is Very Distracting In The Context Of The Scenes They’re In

The stand-out example of the distracting animal CGI in Gladiator II is Lucius’ battle against the troop of angry, hungry, drug-enhanced baboons in Antium. The forced encounter was intended to be a test to see which of the group of captives that Lucius came in with had gladiatorial potential. Lucius showcases his rage and strength in a fight with one particularly large male baboon, which included him wrestling, biting, and strangling the animal. Obviously, Scott could not use a real baboon in that scene, but the CGI version came out looking distractingly unfinished, and borderline unearthly.

The sharks used in the Colosseum naval battle scene suffered from a similar problem. Their motion through the water and overall appearance were not at all seamless and felt jarring against the largely practical clash of ships above them. Again, not using real sharks can certainly be forgiven, but to make them feel so blatantly computer-generated was shocking in the context of the rest of the movie.

To be very clear, neither issue was due to a lack of skill from the VFX workers. With as much lead time as Gladiator II had between when it was first announced in development and its release, the lack of convincing CGI can almost certainly be chalked up to poor planning, which seems to frequently plague big-budget Hollywood productions. That likely led to overworking and rushing the talented VFX team, which otherwise produced an incredible final product.

Gladiator 2’s Shark & Monkey Fight Scenes Are Still Entertaining

The CGI Is A Necessary Evil To Execute Two Important Scenes

With all that said, the two scenes in which the rushed CGI was most apparent are still important to the narrative, so it can (and frankly should) also be forgiven by all but the pickiest of movie critics. Lucius’ fight against the baboons was crucial in establishing the physical strength of his character, and also helped to express the rage that consumed him following the death of his wife. The sharks of the naval battle may not have been historically accurate, but they were necessary to explain how important sheer spectacle was to the deranged Geta and Caracalla.

Most importantly, the scenes are still downright entertaining, CGI aside. The notion of gladiators fighting a troop of baboons, and watching a musclebound Paul Mescal wrestle and bite one is pure blockbuster magic, as is an arena-staged sea battle featuring hungry sharks feasting on gladiators who fall overboard. The CGI is certainly shocking given how seamless the rest of Gladiator II feels in that regard, but it shouldn’t be something that truly ruins the movie for anyone.

Gladiator 2 is the follow-up to Ridley Scott’s award-winning film Gladiator from 2000. Scott returns to direct the sequel, with Paul Mescal staring as Lucius, alongside Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn as the villain Emperor Geta. Gladiator 2 had been stuck in development hell for years before a script written by David Scarpa finally moved forward.

Release Date

November 22, 2024

Studio(s)

Paramount Pictures , Universal Pictures , Scott Free Productions , Red Wagon Entertainment

Distributor(s)

Paramount Pictures

Writers

David Scarpa , Peter Craig , David Franzoni

Runtime

148 minutes

Main Genre

Adventure

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