The Big Picture: ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained?

Published 2024-11-22; 1:53:30 by the feed.

As extracted (engineer-sonnet-2026-10-13)

The extraction calls the show “The Big Picture (The Ringer)” and the episode “'Gladiator II' Is Here. Are We Not Entertained?”.

Hosts: Sean Fennessey. Guests: Chris Ryan, Mallory Rubin.

Subject films: Gladiator II, Gladiator (2000).

On the transcript: No speaker labels; Amanda Dobbins is not present; the three voices are Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan and Mallory Rubin, and many lines are unattributable, so speaker confidences are low. The legacy-sequel top-five list ownership is garbled by the transcription (numbers do not line up between speakers). Ads run 0:00-2:30 and around 0:47-0:49 and after 1:53.

Films that came up

subject (2)

Gladiator II · Gladiator

anecdote (2)

Inglourious Basterds · Motherless Brooklyn

passing (59)

Blue Thunder · Harry Potter · Spider-Man · The Sopranos · 1492: Conquest of Paradise · Superman · Normal People · Aftersun · All of Us Strangers · The Last of Us · Game of Thrones · The Mandalorian · Wicked · A Quiet Place: Day One · Fantastic Four · The Equalizer · Fences · Roman J. Israel, Esq. · The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power · Twisters · The Last Duel · House of Gucci · Alien · A Real Pain · A Complete Unknown · Blade Runner · Thelma & Louise · Black Hawk Down · A Beautiful Mind · Gosford Park · The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring · Mulholland Drive · The Departed · Nickel Boys · Dune: Part Two · Psycho II · The Last Picture Show · Jurassic Park · Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back · Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi · The Exorcist · 2001: A Space Odyssey · The Texas Chain Saw Massacre · Trainspotting · The Shining · Carrie · Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga · Before Sunset · Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse · Captain America: Civil War · Captain America: The Winter Soldier · Doctor Strange · Hawkeye · Oppenheimer · His Dark Materials · The Acolyte · Avengers: Endgame · The Hustler · Dune: Prophecy

compared (20)

Top Gun: Maverick · Napoleon · Prometheus · Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens · Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope · Apocalypse Now · King Kong (2005) · Jurassic World · Joker · Rome (HBO) · Conclave · Training Day · The Dark Knight · Anora · Alien: Covenant · Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace · The Godfather Part III · Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi · Deadpool & Wolverine · Avengers: Infinity War

dismissed (3)

Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker · Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022, Netflix) · The Eternals

recommended (9)

The Exorcist III · 2010: The Year We Make Contact · The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2 · T2 Trainspotting · Doctor Sleep · Mad Max: Fury Road · Before Midnight · Logan · The Color of Money

Claims (63)

  1. craft (craft): Gladiator II → Gladiator. Gladiator II brings back the original film's cinematographer, John Mathieson, as part of a returning crew.
    “The cinematographer, John Matheson, is back.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:06:38 · Sean Fennessey (0.85 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (lineage): Gladiator II → Gladiator. The sequel is very similar in structure and story to the original.
    “it's pretty well known that this movie is very similar in structure and story to the original.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:06:45 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)
  3. industry (industry): Gladiator → The Lord of the Rings. Gladiator came right before Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Spider-Man changed summer blockbusters.
    “And it's right before Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Spider-Man.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:11:26 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. industry (industry): Gladiator II → Top Gun: Maverick. Chris expected Gladiator II to be a Top Gun: Maverick-level event with repeat viewings, and is only halfway right.
    “I remember earlier this year just being like, this is going to be Top Gun Maverick.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:13:51 · Chris Ryan (0.80 sure it was them)
  5. lineage (lineage): Gladiator II → Gladiator. The sequel's plot, structure, approach and pacing mirror the first, forcing a one-to-one comparison.
    “it's just the movie is so similar to the 1st one in terms of plot, structure, approach, focus, pacing.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:15:52 · Mallory Rubin (0.60 sure it was them)
  6. career (career): Ridley Scott → Napoleon. Late Ridley Scott: taking on Napoleon with jokes about sex in it.
    “I'm going to take on Napoleon, and I'm going to put a lot of jokes about fucking in it.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:16:52 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  7. career (career): Ridley Scott → Prometheus. Scott said he fucked up Prometheus, a film Sean has thought about for ten years.
    “I was like, no, I've been thinking about Prometheus for 10 years”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:17:30 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  8. career (career): Ridley Scott → 1492: Conquest of Paradise. Scott insists weak films are good, like 1492 being one of his best.
    “it'd be like 1492 is one of my best”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:17:41 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  9. contrast (contrast): Gladiator II → Gladiator. The sequel tries to feel new by flipping the first film's premise: Marcus Aurelius's dream of Rome becomes its failure.
    “Instead of here's Marcus Aurelius's dream of what Rome can be, it's a bastardization and a compromise and a failure to execute against that promise.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:30 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  10. lineage (lineage): Gladiator II → Gladiator. Because it mirrors the first film, outcomes for characters become predictable by inversion.
    “I almost felt like it became impossible not to know what was going to happen to certain people”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:39 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  11. what-if (what-if): Gladiator II → Gladiator. Make Gladiator from Oliver Reed's perspective: Macrinus, who wants to upend Roman society.
    “The pitch could have been, we're going to do Gladiator from Oliver Reed's perspective.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:23:16 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  12. what-if (what-if): Gladiator II → Superman. That version would be like if Lex Luthor could control Superman.
    “It would be like if Lex Luthor could control Superman.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:23:40 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  13. lineage (lineage): Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens → Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. The Force Awakens maps almost exactly onto A New Hope.
    “Force Awakens, which will maybe come up later on this podcast is in almost every respect.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:24:06 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  14. craft (craft): Gladiator II → Prometheus. Macrinus's rise is Scott with the safety off, like Prometheus's birth sequence.
    “This is actually the Ridley Scott with the safety off thing, the Prometheus, um, you know, uh, birth sequence”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:26:18 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  15. contrast (contrast): Paul Mescal → Gladiator. Lucius's feats never match the first time we see Maximus against the Germanic tribe.
    “never really match up to the 1st time we see Maximus against the Germanic tribe.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:29:30 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  16. programming (programming): Gladiator II → Wicked. Gladiator II's CGI baboons made it feel like being dumped into Wicked.
    “I actually felt like we got dumped into Wicked or something, you know?”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:37:13 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  17. craft (craft): Gladiator II → Apocalypse Now. Sean demands real animals, citing the tiger in Apocalypse Now.
    “You're not responding like the way Frederick Forrest responds to the tiger in apocalypse now”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:38:38 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  18. craft (craft): Gladiator II → King Kong. Peter Jackson's King Kong shows CGI animals done with care.
    “I really like Peter Jackson's King Kong.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:39:23 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  19. craft (craft): Gladiator II → Jurassic World. CGI animals pull it out of the film into Jurassic World 6.
    “I was like, okay, so we're just like in Jurassic World 6.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:39:43 · Mallory Rubin (0.40 sure it was them)
  20. craft (craft): Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn → Sid Vicious. The actors compared their twin emperors to John Lydon and Sid Vicious.
    “they have compared themselves to doing John Lyden and Sid Vicious from Sex Pistols in their portrayal of these 2 guys”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:41:30 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  21. craft (craft): Fred Hechinger and Joseph Quinn → Joaquin Phoenix. The twin emperors play late-period Joaquin mannered, crazy Joker-style villainy.
    “these guys are doing late period Joaquin, you know, like they're doing the more like mannered, like crazy Joker shit”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:43:00 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  22. lineage (lineage): Commodus → Lucius. The twin emperors lack a driving wound like Commodus's father issue.
    “There's no equivalent presented in the film.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:44:08 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  23. craft (craft): Gladiator II → HBO's Rome. Focusing on the Roman people would make it HBO's Rome, which isn't this film.
    “then you're just sort of like this isn't HBO's Rome.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:45:37 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  24. theme (theme): Gladiator II → Conclave. Both films feel resonant with the election cycle without mapping neatly.
    “the same way that conclave, which is like so heavily leaning into like, hey, isn't this just like this election cycle?”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:47:12 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  25. lineage (lineage): Gladiator II → Gladiator. Lucius's hand in the grain is a callback to Maximus's hand in the wheat.
    “And it's an obvious callback to Maximus walking through the kind of afterlife feeling the wheat.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:52:34 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  26. craft (craft): Gladiator II → Gladiator. Lucius as Maximus's son is a classic retcon not in the first film's text.
    “it is, is a classic case of reconning.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:53:58 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  27. career (career): Denzel Washington → Fences. His filmography runs from August Wilson plays like Fences to big blockbusters.
    “he's been on this mission to make films like fences to get August Wilson's films, plays in front of people.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:55:45 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  28. career (career): Denzel Washington → Training Day. Macrinus is a rare outlandish, fun-having role for Denzel, with Alonzo in Training Day the nearest earlier cousin.
    “You could say like Alonzo a little bit in training day is this”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:57:12 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  29. people (people): Training Day → Gladiator II. A colleague called Gladiator II a prequel to Training Day.
    “Adam called this a prequel to training day.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:57:19 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  30. theme (theme): Macrinus → Sauron. Macrinus is a great improviser villain, like Sauron in the Rings of Power discussion.
    “one of the reasons that Sauron is so compelling is villainous because he's the great improviser”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:58:36 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  31. theme (theme): Macrinus → The Dark Knight. Macrinus has no master plan and improvises like Heath Ledger's Joker.
    “he's more of the Dark Knight, Heath Ledger Joker character, where he's sort of like, is, he does not have a master plan.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:00:46 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  32. career (career): Denzel Washington → The Equalizer. Denzel's brand is secure from the Equalizer movies, so he can take a risky villain part.
    “I do the equalizer.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:01:48 · Sean Fennessey (0.30 sure it was them)
  33. theme (theme): Gladiator II → Anora. Anora's idea that there is no dream undercuts Macrinus's rise from nothing to the top.
    “one of the key ideas of Anora is like, There is no dream.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:09:25 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  34. industry (industry): Gladiator II → Wicked. Gladiator II opens the same weekend as Wicked, which will be a sensation.
    “This is opening the same weekend as Wicked, which is going to be a sensation.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:10:53 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  35. career (career): Ridley Scott → Alien: Covenant. Scott made Covenant, which may be better than Gladiator II.
    “he made, like, Covenant is maybe better than this.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:11:27 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  36. career (career): Gladiator II → Napoleon. Gladiator II is equivalent to Napoleon in being messy, but expectations differed.
    “I actually think that this movie is equivalent to Napoleon, but my expectations were low on Napoleon, and they were high on Gladiator 2.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:11:38 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  37. career (career): Ridley Scott → Napoleon. Chris defends late-period Ridley: The Last Duel, House of Gucci, Napoleon, the Alien films.
    “I really like the last duel.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:12:06 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  38. industry (industry): Ridley Scott → Alien. Scott has never won Best Director, absurd for the maker of Blade Runner and Alien.
    “This guy made Plate Runner an alien.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:14:14 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  39. industry (industry): Ridley Scott → Black Hawk Down. Scott's three directing nominations include Thelma & Louise, Gladiator, and Black Hawk Down.
    “He did get nominated for Black Hawk down.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:14:43 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  40. verdict (verdict): Gladiator II → Top Gun: Maverick. Gladiator II will do well but not drive the repeat business Top Gun: Maverick did.
    “I do not think this is the repeat business.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:16:55 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  41. verdict (verdict): Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker → Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens. The Rise of Skywalker is a blight on cinema history.
    “Rise of Skywalker is uh, a blight on the history of cinema”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:22:32 · Mallory Rubin (0.40 sure it was them)
  42. contrast (contrast): Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi → Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens. The Last Jedi upends expectations where The Force Awakens repeats the structure.
    “Because last Jedi is kind of like upending a lot of our expectations of Star Wars movies”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:23:36 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  43. contrast (contrast): Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens → Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. As the start of a new trilogy, The Force Awakens is far more successful than The Phantom Menace.
    “It is infinitely more successful than Phantom Menace was.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:23:55 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  44. lineage (lineage): Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens → Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. It ports over Death Star, Tatooine and R2-D2 as Starkiller Base, Jakku and BB-8.
    “in place of the Death Star, you have star killer base.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:24:09 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  45. lineage (lineage): The Exorcist III → The Exorcist. Blatty returned to the world of The Exorcist thirteen years after the second film, with the original's evil.
    “William Peter Blatties, you know, returned to the World of the Exorcist with a lot of the original kind of evil of the 1st one.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:25:38 · Chris Ryan (0.70 sure it was them)
  46. contrast (contrast): 2010: The Year We Make Contact → 2001: A Space Odyssey. 2010 tries to answer Kubrick's questions and is more loyal to Arthur C. Clarke's ideas.
    “it's much more... As I remember loyal to Arthur C. Clark's science fiction ideas”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:26:18 · Chris Ryan (0.60 sure it was them)
  47. contrast (contrast): The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2 → The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Part 2 reuses the framework but changes the tone to slapstick comedy.
    “Texas Chainsaw Messker 2 is basically a slapstick comedy.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:27:15 · Chris Ryan (0.70 sure it was them)
  48. people (people): The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2 → Dennis Hopper. Dennis Hopper gives a ludicrous hero performance in Texas Chainsaw 2.
    “features Dennis Hopper, like a ludicrous performance as like kind of the hero of the movie.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:27:54 · Chris Ryan (0.60 sure it was them)
  49. contrast (contrast): Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022, Netflix) → The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. The Netflix legacy sequel replaces the original's horror with influencers and a DEI angle.
    “It was like a DEI, Texas Chainsaw Massacre.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:28:47 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  50. lineage (lineage): T2 Trainspotting → Trainspotting. T2 is about the Trainspotting guys as middle-aged men reckoning with their mistakes.
    “This is about the guys who were in train spotting kind of being middle-aged men now.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:29:56 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  51. craft (craft): T2 Trainspotting → Danny Boyle. T2 carries Danny Boyle's throw-everything-at-the-wall style.
    “Danny Boyle sort of signature kind of like throw everything at the wall style.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:30:02 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  52. people (people): Doctor Sleep → Mike Flanagan. Mike Flanagan directed Doctor Sleep, a stylistic step forward from Kubrick.
    “Mike Flanagan's sequel adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:31:01 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  53. lineage (lineage): Doctor Sleep → The Shining. Doctor Sleep uses grown-up Danny and a new generation, Abra Stone.
    “Using a familiar figure from the original film in Danny, the grown up Danny”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:31:19 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  54. people (people): Doctor Sleep → Rebecca Ferguson. Rebecca Ferguson's villain performance supercharges the movie.
    “an insane Rebecca Ferguson performance as the villain of the movie that she just walks away with the movie”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:31:30 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  55. contrast (contrast): Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga → Mad Max: Fury Road. Furiosa is just okay, better on rewatch, versus Fury Road as one of the greatest movies this century.
    “Fury Road is one of the greatest movies this century.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:33:56 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  56. what-if (what-if): Gladiator II → Before Midnight. Chris wanted Gladiator II to have the guts of Before Midnight, with the couple together and unhappy.
    “Everything that I'm kind of like asking for from Gladiator 2 where I was like, have some guts”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:35:07 · Chris Ryan (0.60 sure it was them)
  57. theme (theme): Before Midnight → T2 Trainspotting. Both revisit a monument to youth with the characters twenty years older.
    “This is similar to T2, uh, transpotting where it's like to do a meditation on these things”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:35:58 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  58. people (people): Richard Linklater → Before Midnight. Linklater is a favorite filmmaker; the Before trilogy is among Chris's favorite trilogies.
    “The before trilogy is one of my 3 favorite movie trilogies.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:36:16 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  59. contrast (contrast): Mad Max: Fury Road → Top Gun: Maverick. Fury Road dispenses with franchise mythology while Top Gun: Maverick is the opposite, built on the original's story.
    “Top Gun Maverick is the opposite.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:38:11 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  60. contrast (contrast): Deadpool & Wolverine → Logan. Deadpool & Wolverine is like a Mad magazine issue about a Marvel movie, unlike serious Logan.
    “I view Deadpool and Wolverine as like the Mad magazine issue about a Marvel movie.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:42:08 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  61. verdict (verdict): Logan → Avengers: Infinity War. Logan is the better movie, but Infinity War was more fun.
    “I think Logan's a better movie.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:43:05 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  62. lineage (lineage): The Color of Money → The Hustler. The Color of Money revisits Eddie Felson years later, with Paul Newman in his twilight and a new protege.
    “Now we find Paul Newman bringing up like a new protégé.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:47:28 · Chris Ryan (0.60 sure it was them)
  63. people (people): The Color of Money → Martin Scorsese. Scorsese and Richard Price made the Color of Money.
    “And it's just like fucking Scorsese and Richard Price.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:47:32 · Chris Ryan (0.60 sure it was them)

Fun items (27)

  1. fun, about The Big Picture: The three have not recorded together in this formation since the Inglorious Basterds Rewatchables, five years ago.
    “has not recorded a podcast together in this formation, since the Inglorious Bastards rewatchables five years.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:02:46 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Christopher Nolan: Chris wants to talk about Nolan assembling his Avengers cast for his next film, including Pattinson and Zendaya.
    “Nolan is building his own Avengers.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:05:02 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about Gladiator: Joaquin Phoenix's rise, Crowe's peak and patching together Oliver Reed's performance after his death made it lightning in a bottle.
    “Like, you know, being able to patch together the Oliver Reed performance, even though he passes away during production.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:10:35 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. fun, about Gladiator: Chris calls the original arguably the last truly practical blockbuster, right before Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Spider-Man.
    “it's arguably the last truly practical blockbuster.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:11:03 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  5. fun, about Gladiator: The never-made Nick Cave sequel, where Maximus fights his way through hell, still floats around online.
    “You can see online still, where Maximus fights his way through hell.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:12:50 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)
  6. fun, about Gladiator II: Mallory ate a five-piece chicken tender meal at an AMC while watching the long movie.
    “I got a 5 piece chicken tender at Peter.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:14:46 · Mallory Rubin (0.60 sure it was them)
  7. fun, about Gladiator II: Chris and Mallory could not shake the sense that the plot was a flipped copy of Gladiator, with Macrinus as the real engine of the film.
    “Instead of here's Marcus Aurelius's dream of what Rome can be, it's a bastardization and a compromise and a failure to execute against that promise.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:30 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  8. fun, about Paul Mescal: Mallory's elevator story: Mescal stood by while a stranger recommended a chiropractor.
    “And the whole time Paul Mescal is just like, I can't wait for this conversation to be fucking over so I can get out of here.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:27:21 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  9. fun, about Gladiator II: The sharks: the panel jokes that a Roman catching, let alone transporting, a dozen sharks is unlikely.
    “It has been declared that the likelihood of anyone during the Roman Empire Times catching a shark, let alone transporting it.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:36:50 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  10. fun, about Gladiator II: The CGI baboons, rhinoceros and sharks were the least successful set pieces; the intimate fights, like the emperor's party, worked best.
    “The baboons was just CGI.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:37:10 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  11. fun, about Gladiator II: Sean's challenge: if you want animal fights, let wild baboons attack Paul Mescal for real, like method acting.
    “What happened to method acting in this industry?”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:38:24 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  12. fun, about Gladiator II: Lucius being Maximus's son: Maximus slept with Lucilla while having his own kid, which the panel finds funny in a strength-and-honor way.
    “Well, it's also just like, that means Maximus was like fucking Lucilla right when he was having his own kid.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:50:39 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  13. fun, about Gladiator II: Mallory notes the film now says Lucius is Commodus's kid too, an incest angle lightly suggested before.
    “The much more transgressive idea is that he's Commodus' kid, a product of incest.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:51:35 · Mallory Rubin (0.40 sure it was them)
  14. fun, about Denzel Washington: Denzel is both multi-Oscar-nominated and the surest box-office draw who skips Marvel, and here plays a bisexual, earring-wearing schemer.
    “He's really struck this harmonious balance in his 70s of being wildly acclaimed multi-Oscar nominated actor.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:56:10 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  15. fun, about Denzel Washington: Denzel's Esquire as-told-to piece about getting sober, plus his Oscar-voting jabs, made this an unusually fun promo cycle.
    “he did this esquire as told 2 piece that is fascinating about his life and getting sober”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:56:45 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  16. fun, about Gladiator II: Mallory compares the Macrinus-Lucius fight and its idle armies to Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson: you always knew who would win.
    “how perfectly this mirrors the Jake Paul Mike Tyson fight the end of this film.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:02:23 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  17. fun, about Denzel Washington: Awards: second place behind Kieran Culkin for supporting actor right now.
    “I think he's in 2nd place behind Kieran Culkin right now for real pain.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:12:27 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  18. fun, about Ridley Scott: Scott has been nominated for Best Director three times and has never won, losing the Black Hawk Down year to Ron Howard.
    “Ridley Scott's been nominated 3 times for directing.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:14:28 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  19. fun, about Gladiator II: Real monkey business: Dondus the monkey really did nibble fruit and, per the panel, relieve himself on Fred Hechinger's shoulder.
    “That was a monkey shitting on Fred Heckinger's shoulder.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:18:44 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  20. fun, about The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 2: Chris pitches Part 2 as a slapstick comedy with Dennis Hopper, to be watched back to back with the original.
    “You should watch them both back to back, but start at midnight.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:28:14 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  21. fun, about Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022, Netflix): Chris and friends rejected the influencer-commune Netflix sequel as DEI Texas Chainsaw.
    “It's about influencers who are start trying to start like the new Marfa.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:28:34 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  22. fun, about Mike Flanagan: Flanagan, now near A-list, is seen as Stephen King's Kevin Feige: The Stand, Dark Tower and Carrie.
    “Stephen King needs a Kevin Feige”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:32:23 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  23. fun, about Before Midnight: Chris loves it as a brutal punch in the gut about long relationships; the Before trilogy is among his three favorite trilogies.
    “this is such a punch in the gut, and I love that.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:36:25 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  24. fun, about Top Gun: Maverick: Val Kilmer showing up made them cry; the film worked for even the most anti-Tom-Cruise cynic.
    “man, when Val Kilmer shows up, I fucking cried.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:38:54 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  25. fun, about Doctor Sleep: Sean disliked it first, then saw the director's cut and decided it is one of his favorite movies of the decade.
    “this is one of my favorite movies the last 10 years.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:50:09 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  26. fun, about Wicked: Next week's episode is Wicked with guest Juliet Litman; the four have never podcast together.
    “The 3 of us and Juliet have never podcasted together.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:51:49 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  27. fun, about Dune: Prophecy: The Ringer will cover Dune: Prophecy weekly.
    “We'll be covering that weekly.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:52:49 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)

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