Igor_Husak

The art of making people laugh is one of the hardest things to pull off, which is why I've always admired Leslie Nielsen.

The director and team behind this one did the best possible thing: They kept the gags' style, paid homage to the great predecessor, and still went their own way.

Fear not - high-school humor and sly sexual innuendo are still here.

But the biggest surprise for me? Liam Neeson.

Honestly, I'd have put him near the bottom of my list to play Frank Drebin Jr.

But he nailed it.

Only someone with real charisma could avoid the trap of overplaying it or copying Nielsen.

Neeson can make bad guys suffer in Taken, and here he uses the same stone-faced delivery to make people laugh.

Respect.

If you're the type who reads reviews before going to the cinema, you'll see some nasty ones floating around.

Ignore them - they're from people who don't like Naked Gun-type humor in the first place.

If you liked the original, you'll like this one. I bet Leslie Nielsen does.

I bet you're expecting two things from Gladiator II:

01 A revenge-justice narrative like the first film

02 Thrilling action scenes backed by a big budget

I didn't expect the first, but if I'd known the second would also fall short, I would think twice before stepping into the theater.

Ridley Scott can create films unburdened by his reputation and previous work, but he can also cannibalize his legacy, as he did with the prequels and sequels of Alien.

He did the same with Gladiator II, directing it like it was the last thing on Earth he wanted to do.

The first Gladiator wasn't without its flaws.

It was filmed without a solid script but with a master director at its helm and a lead actor who covered the rest.

Russell Crowe's performance carries Gladiator. Considering this is an action film, I regard it as one of the finest performances in film history.

Paul Mescal might be a good actor in "quieter" roles, but not for epic ones. At one point, Denzel Washington describes Mescal's character as someone full of thirst for revenge. It couldn't be further from the truth-he's a reasonable man skilled with a sword.

Denzel's performance is the best in the film, but for some reason, he's got an accent from American Gangster. If that was meant to signal he's from the far side of the Roman Empire, it didn't work.

The crazy brothers try to look like lunatic emperors. Joaquin Phoenix did that by doing his best to pretend normal.

Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi reprise their roles, and that's the main reason they're in this film.

The story drags for too long, serving up a sandwich of dialogue and battles...

...Battles that feel like we're seeing the intro to each but never get fully developed epic scenes like those in the original.

Weren't we at least entitled to see Mescal and Pascal, initially on opposite sides, battling sword-to-sword to save the empire?

I'm usually fine with CGI, but the one used here looked fake in many scenes, failing to merge with the locations.

Unlike Top Gun: Maverick, which copied the original shot-for-shot but enriched it, Gladiator II follows the same formula as its famous predecessor but does everything worse.

The best parts of the film are the flashbacks with Russell Crowe. They're a painstaking reminder of how the original surpasses Gladiator II in every department.

If you're deciding whether to watch this one, the best thing to do is grab a glass of wine and watch General Maximus Decimus Meridius one more time.

There's really nothing in Gladiator II worth your time.

The 1960s are portrayed through visuals and music that make you feel nostalgic for a time you never lived in, but the catch is-Hanks never plays that card.

Instead, that's just the icing on the cake, and the core of it all is young people on a fun but also demanding road to becoming stars, and possibly fading away before they actually become real stars.

What made me upgrade my rating from an 8 to a 9 is the fact that, without trying to be larger than life or relying on drugs, sex, or a wild protagonist, Hanks manages to take you behind the curtains of show business. It makes you wonder if the emotions the media tries to provoke are one big hoax, all without being judgmental.

Is there any authenticity left?

He suggests there is, but there's a price to pay for it as well.

There's a particularly nice scene between one of the band members and his jazz role model, whom he gets to meet for a jam session in the studio.

As the role model explains, "Bands come and go," you get a sense you're watching a film about much more than just being fun and entertaining (though it's definitely that too).

That Thing You Do delivers a warm story with great storytelling, characters, and music, offering more depth than you'd expect from a movie about four guys and a girl who made a pop hit.

What more could you wish for?

Just that Tom Hanks would direct more often.