“Pascal barely registers onscreen at all, with a good deal of Gladiator II serving as a cautionary tale about what happens to lightweight TV actors when they come up against a bona fide movie star. It’s like every scene is being acted in lowercase letters until along comes big-D Denzel. He’s an absolute joy to watch, and the film languishes in his absence.” – WBUR’s Arts & Culture, 11/21/2024