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Why was it necessary to falsify history here? Roman history is interesting on its own. Numidia was already Roman. Caracalla outlived Geta for many years, and Macrinus became emperor. Caracalla also granted each free Roman citizenship. He was not merely a cruel madman. This film makes caricatures out of its characters, replacing history with pointless and rather soulless spectacle. What happened? Ridley Scott used to be a great director. This is a massive disappointment, and it disappoints for no imaginable reason. The original Gladiator did not necessarily follow complete historical truth, but it bent history instead of breaking it.

What a waste of time, money and talent.

The only thing memorable about this is Denzel Washington. He shines, and knows it. A joy to watch, the rest is forgettable.

So people are putting down JP3 because it allegedly does not stand up to the original. Well, it is different. It is short, less philosophical, centered on the family quest, and the concept is already known. It is part of a series! So why not do things a little differently? There are new accents: the raptors are not shown as monsters but as intelligent beings, and in general, the animals appear more like real animals rather than dinosaurs. There are even quiet moments with a Tyrannosaurus. What you get, is a short, compact film with elements from horror and nature documentary. It does not have to have the gravitas of the first movie, or the exploratory nature, as the ground work has been laid. So, if you're able to get past the fact that this is not a clone of the other two films, it is actually quite good.