“He is an agitator,” say Jupiter of Hephaestus. “He squeezes the bellows of dissent... a little wind... a mere puff... but within it the presage of pandemonium. Am I making myself clear?”

“No,” says Maximus.

Jupiter offers him a deal: if he kills Hephaestus, then he will be reunited with his wife and son in the golden wheat fields of Elysium. It may sound like the premise of a Terry Gilliam film or a Neil Gaiman graphic novel, rather than a blockbuster sequel, but Cave’s Orphean adventure sort of makes sense. All through Gladiator, Maximus longs to see his family again, so there is a certain logic to a plot which keeps that longing alive, even when the person doing the longing isn’t. Once you adjust your expectations, you can settle in and enjoy Gladiator 2 for the supernatural quest movie that it is.

To hell and back

But then, suddenly, it isn’t. No sooner has Maximus tracked down Hephaestus than he is zapped out of the stygian gloom and into the world of flesh and blood, a decade or two after his death. Human again, he travels to Rome in search of his son Marius: did I mention that Marius, who was crucified and burnt to death in Gladiator, is alive and kicking in Gladiator 2?