While Gladiator II had incredible visuals, a team of VFX artists were not entirely convinced by one key fight scene. After the original 2000 classic became one of Ridley Scott’s best movies, he agreed to direct a sequel, which would focus on Paul Mescal’s Lucius. Forced to seek revenge after the death of his wife and his subsequent enslavement, Lucius plans to kill General Acacius (Pedro Pascal), only to find that the conflict is far more complex than he expected. Lucius is forced to fight baboons, a rhinoceros, and even his stepfather.

The baboon scene, in particular, has drawn some criticism from the Corridor Crew, a team of VFX artists on YouTube. Three artists sat down to discuss the scene, and they generally agreed that the baboon designs were “really good.” They believe that the artists had to “sculpt everything” from scratch, using only a few references. While there was a human dressed in a gray suit to aid with Mescal’s movements, the baboon itself was composed of nothing but CGI. Check out artist Wren Weichman’s quote below:

This is entirely created from scratch, and it’s an artist or multiple artists literally going through, and they sculpt everything, they model everything. Then you have an additional artist come in and texture everything, and they’re painting not just like the colors, but all of, like, the wrinkles and dimples and pores and all that stuff. It all gets like brushed on, and it’s like anytime you have a CG animal, especially like a skinned animal like this, you have all the bones interacting with all the muscles connected to those bones, and the skin over the top of all that. It’s just simulation, layers, freaking onion.

The monkey designs were practically impeccable, but the artists did find some major flaws in the VFX implementation. Jordan Allen explained that the actual scene itself was impossible, because “a baboon is significantly stronger than a human.” He believes that Lucius’ survival was ridiculous, because the baboon should have been able to kill him easily. Check out Allen’s quote below:

This is the scene that took me out of it, like, from a CG perspective, really difficult thing to do well. They did a great job just conceptually. Like you’re never going to rear naked choke, not even baboons, coked up baboons… A baboon is significantly stronger than a human, way stronger. You’re not going to be able to put your hooks in. It’s going to wriggle, it’s going to eat your soft parts. None of them would be alive right now.

What The Divisive VFX Means For Gladiator II

This Movie Already Received A Mixed Reception

Gladiator II has struggled to stand out from its predecessor, which remains critically acclaimed decades later. Without Russell Crowe’s Maximus, the movie needed to set itself apart without relying on his incredible performance and character work. As a result, Gladiator II largely focused on spectacle, leading to chaotic scenes in the Colosseum and several full-scale battle sequences. Lucius was forced to fight in a naval battle, against malnourished baboons, and even against a man who overthrew the twin emperors. With so much focus on the impressive visual accomplishments of the movie, the VFX work needed to be impeccable.

The criticism that the Corridor Crew provided is fairly profound and echoed ScreenRant‘s own Graeme Guttmann’s review, which described the movie as entertaining, though not well-rounded. Lucius could not realistically wrestle a baboon and survive, but the visual spectacle is the main draw of the battle, which is why it remains fairly compelling throughout the fight. The weight distribution may be faulty, but it is possible to suspend disbelief enough to make for a fun examination of human limitations. Still, if the VFX went wrong, there would be little left for a movie that relies on style over substance.

Our Take On Gladiator II’s VFX

The Visuals Were Not The Issue For Gladiator II

Visuals were never the primary issue that led to Gladiator II‘s disappointing run at the box office. Instead, the issue was that the story, characters, and even the world had various inconsistencies. Lucius’ character had no inner cohesion and often changed motivations with little prompting, as he did after fighting General Acacius. No character ever felt that they had agency, as they only existed to service a plot that felt quite similar to the original story. The spectacle was fun, and the visuals were as well, but this was a movie that needed to improve its narrative above all else.

Source: Corridor Crew