Gladiator was always going to be a tough act to follow; after all, it won multiple Oscars after being released in 2000 and has become widely regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made.
Filmmaker Sir Ridley Scott returned to helm Gladiator II and reviews have been positive; the sequel likely won't be an awards contender but it is a fan-pleasing action flick. However, cinematographer John Mathieson doesn't have anything good to say about his reunion with Scott.
They worked together on Gladiator, along with several of Scott's other movies, including Hannibal, Matchstick Men, Kingdom of Heaven, and Robin Hood.
However, talking on The DocFix Documentary Storytelling Podcast, Mathieson shared his disappointment with what he saw from Scott during their Gladiator II collaboration.
Explaining that Scott now shoots scenes with multiple cameras, he called the filmmaker's process "really lazy," adding, "It’s the CG [computer graphic] elements now of tidying-up, leaving things in shot, cameras in shot, microphones in shot, bits of set hanging down, shadows from booms. And they just said [on Gladiator II], 'Well, clean it up.'"
"He is quite impatient so he likes to get as much as he can at once," Mathieson continued. "It’s not very good for cinematography," he noted, explaining that it means you "can only light from one angle."
"Look at his older films and getting depth into things was very much part of lighting. You can’t do that with a lot of cameras but he just wants to get it all done," he said. "Having lots of cameras I don’t think has made the films any better...It’s a bit rush, rush, rush. That’s changed in him."
"But that’s the way he wants to do it and I don’t like it and I don’t think many people do, but people love his films and he’s Ridley Scott and can do what he wants. People want to shoot multi cameras because they get lots of performances and they put lots of people in. But there’s not the care."
"Now it is this thing of ‘generally covering stuff’ rather than me being the cook cooking you something wonderful in my kitchen downstairs," Mathieson shared. "You just go to the supermarket and get one of those really big trolleys and you just put your arm on the shelf and just chuck all that stuff in and we’ll sort it out later."
Scott, now 87, does work at a breakneck pace these days, releasing four films in the last three years: The Last Duel, House of Gucci, Napoleon, and Gladiator II.
He's showing no signs of slowing down either and it seems cutting corners - at least in Mathieson's opinion - is how Scott is managing to get so much done.
From legendary director Ridley Scott, Gladiator II continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Based on characters by David Franzoni and a story by Peter Craig and David Scarpa, Ridley Scott directs Gladiator II from a script by Scarpa. The cast includes Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, with Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington.
Gladiator II is now playing in theaters.