Gladiator II

In Ridley Scott’s sequel the history sorts out through the production’s own adviser. Consultant Alexander Mariotti says the Colosseum really could be flooded for naval battles, built as it was over Nero’s artificial lake with drainage tied to the aqueducts, and that baboons really were brought into the arena. He rejects the sharks and the gladiator riding a rhinoceros. A similar split runs behind the camera. On set the rhino was Neil Corbould’s remote controlled animatronic, swapped for a computer generated one in the finished shots. The baboons are digital throughout; stunt performers in grey suits gave the actors something to hit, and the animation was keyed from video of real baboons rather than motion capture. The naval battle was shot dry at Fort Ricasoli in Malta, then finished in a water tank holding part of the Colosseum. Macrinus, played by Denzel Washington, was real but given an invented past: born at Cherchell in present day Algeria, of the equestrian class, praetorian prefect under Caracalla, emperor for barely a year. It took one Academy Award nomination, for costume design, losing to Wicked. A good fit if you want the arena as engineering and wonder where the water tank ends. Not for anyone who will count the sharks and the rhino ride, disowned by the production’s own adviser, against the film.