1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,520 Hello everyone and welcome to the Every Movie Ever Podcast. My name is Ben Grohls. 2 00:00:14,520 --> 00:00:18,800 And my name is Rob Macfarlane. Welcome to the show, a movie podcast slash mental health 3 00:00:18,800 --> 00:00:24,560 check-in for two broken brain best friends talking around their problems, but not about 4 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:26,960 their problems whilst, you know, laughing at movies. 5 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:32,080 Before we get to what we're doing, I feel it's far more important we ask the real question. 6 00:00:32,080 --> 00:00:34,600 How are you doing, buddy? 7 00:00:34,600 --> 00:00:38,080 I've had a week, man. 8 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:39,080 You have? 9 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:42,440 I've had a week. So my chest problem gone and sort of had it all checked out and this 10 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,920 and that and the other and gone for a few tests and the test came back. It's a, it's 11 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:47,480 a collapsed lung. 12 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:48,480 Yes. 13 00:00:48,480 --> 00:00:53,880 That I've been living with for six months. I've had a collapsed lung for six months. 14 00:00:53,880 --> 00:00:54,880 Snowflake, mate. 15 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:59,360 Absolutely liberal, beta cuck, soy boy lung. 16 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:02,640 Anyway, other than that, I'm fine. How are you babe? 17 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:09,120 I'm fine. I mean, what am I? I'm mostly just fuming that you would rather collapse along 18 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,600 than do your half of the work for the podcast. 19 00:01:11,600 --> 00:01:14,800 I've done my half of the work for this episode. I was up until three o'clock this morning 20 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:19,240 feeling guilty, struggling to breathe, I might add, because of all anxiety and adrenaline 21 00:01:19,240 --> 00:01:20,440 that was going through me yesterday. 22 00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:21,440 Yeah. 23 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,680 Chatting, like typing away about Ridley Scott and his massive forehead. I don't care about 24 00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:27,360 this film. I didn't, I didn't know what I was doing. I was looking at it. I was like, 25 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,400 mate, I might die in a minute. I'm going to go eat a cheesecake. What am I doing? 26 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:34,320 That's a brilliant way to start an hour long show about a film. I don't care about this 27 00:01:34,320 --> 00:01:39,800 film. Well, I do Ben. I do. And I think it's a joke. It's a joke. Come on. 28 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:45,840 I think it's a high time we say, what are we doing this week, Ben? We are cashing in 29 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:54,440 on Ridley Scott's sequel to Gladiator. Gladiator 2 or Gladiator. Either way, it's sword, sword 30 00:01:54,440 --> 00:02:00,480 sandals and a beautiful beef cake everywhere. You know what I mean? Everywhere, everywhere, 31 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:04,640 everywhere, everywhere. We've got a lot to get into this week. We've got why Gladiator 32 00:02:04,640 --> 00:02:10,480 2 took so long to sequel and why we're getting one now. Is it worth the two decade wait? 33 00:02:10,480 --> 00:02:15,720 How does it compare to the original masterpiece? What were the other Gladiator movies that 34 00:02:15,720 --> 00:02:22,560 we could have had? And most importantly, has Ridley Scott yet again retroactively ruined 35 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:29,320 another one of his best franchises? Yes. But now let's paint the picture of where we are. 36 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:33,920 Where are we? Where are we? But I don't know when in time we are right now, buddy. Right 37 00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:40,160 now. It's 2024. Oh God. Emma Stone and Killian Murphy both take home best actor for Golden 38 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:45,120 Globes and they both went full nude for their roles that they won them for. That's because 39 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:49,080 Killian Murphy had his Golden Globes out. You see, he painted them that color as a little 40 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:54,600 subconscious. He dropped his Golden Globe. You know what I mean? I saw it. Get your tits 41 00:02:54,600 --> 00:03:01,080 out for the Globes, lads. You know what I mean? It's 2024, buddy. And the UK has been 42 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:06,280 obsessed with pretty colors in the sky that you can only see through a phone screen at 43 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:17,300 2 a.m. sometimes some where's. Sweat the nation, babe. The amount of pink sky I saw on Facebook 44 00:03:17,300 --> 00:03:22,960 and Instagram the day after the Northern Lights hit Liverpool. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. 45 00:03:22,960 --> 00:03:26,920 I thought there was a protest going on. Just let people enjoy things, Ben. Just let people 46 00:03:26,920 --> 00:03:33,320 enjoy. Enjoy it. Flood my feed. It's 2024, babe. Yeah. And it turns out that some lungs 47 00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:39,640 aren't built different after all. No, it turns out that some lungs are just built poorly 48 00:03:39,640 --> 00:03:47,040 and collapse under the tiniest bit of stress made out of glue and wishes. That sneeze came 49 00:03:47,040 --> 00:03:54,080 out of nowhere. That scared the hell out of me. You thought that was the end. It's happening 50 00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:59,680 now. It's happening now. I felt a bubble was like, right, the budget gladiator to is a 51 00:03:59,680 --> 00:04:05,200 weird one, man. I can't find an exact number. There's a few sources saying 250, a few sources 52 00:04:05,200 --> 00:04:13,200 saying 300, but anywhere between 250 mil and 300 mil shed. That's not true because I've 53 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:17,560 also seen sources saying up to 350. See, this is what I'm saying, man. People need to get 54 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:24,640 the facts straight. My thinking is that it's more money than it's worth and there are people 55 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:30,280 who are on the studio side trying to make that point and then there are filmmakers trying 56 00:04:30,280 --> 00:04:36,640 to combat that point. No, it's only like 220 mil. And then you've got the studio going, 57 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:41,480 no, it's over 350 and then this is where the sort of war of information between them has 58 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:45,800 got you. Well, we normally at this point we do like a, why are we doing this film? What 59 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:49,760 does it mean? Why is this relevant to us? Yeah. Well, we had to, you know what I mean? 60 00:04:49,760 --> 00:04:54,680 We've been forced to. Ridley gave us one of the best sword and sandal movies ever and 61 00:04:54,680 --> 00:05:01,560 then two decades later decided to cash in. So here we are doing the exact same thing, 62 00:05:01,560 --> 00:05:06,880 baby. Well, I look, I think, I think also this is one of the big cinema events of the 63 00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:13,080 year. Yeah, huge. I really do. Now I say that all the big cinema events of this year have 64 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:18,160 been commercial flops. Massive. Red One, the Rock's Christmas movie. Oh, in the bin. That's 65 00:05:18,160 --> 00:05:23,720 open to 34 mil. Yeah, in the bin. Crow opened to none, nothing. Literally 40 quid. Joker 66 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:28,980 2 opened to nothing. That was about a grand. Like this has been the year of massive, massive 67 00:05:28,980 --> 00:05:37,200 losses by the studios. Mad Max Furiosa, mate. Mad Max. 30 mil on the opening weekend. Awful. 68 00:05:37,200 --> 00:05:42,900 Right. This one, anecdotally at least, seems to have avoided that fate. This one's doing 69 00:05:42,900 --> 00:05:48,960 good, man. It's doing bits. It's doing bits. Doing good. Now, for those of you who have 70 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:53,840 yet to see this film, we are about to break down what happens in it. Yes. This is kind 71 00:05:53,840 --> 00:05:58,960 of more of a post-mortem if you've come from the cinema. Yes. We're going to talk about 72 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:05,080 the thoughts, feelings and emotions that you probably have, that we definitely have. If 73 00:06:05,080 --> 00:06:09,340 you're not planning on seeing this at all, stick around. But if you are planning on checking 74 00:06:09,340 --> 00:06:13,560 out this movie, pause here. Pause here. We'll stay here. This is digital media. We'll be 75 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:17,440 trapped in your phone. Exactly. Like little crystal boys. You pause. And you can come 76 00:06:17,440 --> 00:06:21,880 back to us. Our timelines, we no longer exist. Right. You know what I mean? Right. We sat 77 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:27,160 here actively waiting for you, tapping the wrists being like, has Derek done it yet? 78 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:31,960 Where's Jane? His shit at the fucking cinema. You know what I mean? This is it now. Swear 79 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:38,080 jar, Ben. It's getting so much more taxing to start screaming. You know what I mean? 80 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:41,600 Like I need to calm down. Yeah, I know. I know. So please don't swear because it adds 81 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:47,520 nine hours to my editing. It means you might die. Oh, ukulele, ukulele, ukulele, ukulele, 82 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:51,840 ukulele, ukulele, ukulele, ukulele, ukulele, ukulele, ukulele, ukulele, ukulele, ukulele, 83 00:06:51,840 --> 00:06:59,920 ukulele, ukulele. That's my swear jar song. You're welcome to use it. Uh, copyright free. 84 00:06:59,920 --> 00:07:04,720 Just right. If you do use it, are you telling me now? No, this is, this is, this is my, 85 00:07:04,720 --> 00:07:07,440 this is my cause that's going to be insanely popular. I think that's the next tick tock 86 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:18,720 dance. Brilliant. Yeah. Should we do a breakdown? I don't. Let's do a breakdown. My ear is warm. 87 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:23,820 I'm going to start this one. No, I'm not. You're going to start this one. The story 88 00:07:23,820 --> 00:07:29,680 centers on Lucius Verus played by Paul Mescal, the son of Lucilla and the heir to the Roman 89 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:33,660 empire. Now an adult and living in their exile. We don't know any of this at the start. They 90 00:07:33,660 --> 00:07:38,360 try and bury the lead on who he is, even though in all the promo they told you who he was. 91 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:43,540 They wait halfway through the film to confirm it. His peaceful life is shattered when general 92 00:07:43,540 --> 00:07:48,640 Marcus Acacius played by Pedro Pascal, because of course every film has to have Pedro Pascal 93 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:53,000 in it now. You said that sarcastically, but I wholeheartedly agree. Anyway, Pedro invades 94 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:58,160 his home, kills his wife and captures Lucius, enslaving him and forcing him back to Rome. 95 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:05,080 Rome is now under the rule of the tyrannical emperors, Caracalla and Gaeta. Yeah. Gaeta. 96 00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:10,480 And gladiatorial games dominate the city. I mean, you'd hope so. Lucius becomes a gladiator 97 00:08:10,480 --> 00:08:14,500 in the Colosseum. I mean, you'd hope so. Sure. Where he rises through the ranks because we 98 00:08:14,500 --> 00:08:19,320 need a film, channeling the spirit of his childhood hero, Maximus, and also every beat 99 00:08:19,320 --> 00:08:24,200 of the original film. Lucilla recognizes Lucius, but struggles to reconnect with him due to 100 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:30,160 his resentment over their past of her abandoning him and sending him off to exile. Yeah. She 101 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:32,720 did very little to bring him back. You know what I mean? 102 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:37,000 Lucilla and Acacius conspire with senators to overthrow the emperors and restore the 103 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:43,000 Roman Republic. Meanwhile, Lucius bonds with fellow gladiators and learns more about his 104 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:50,520 age, discovering relics of Maximus that inspire him. Oh, what a champ. However, the conspiracy 105 00:08:50,520 --> 00:08:57,680 is exposed by the scheming Macronus, played by Denzel Washington, absolute, absolute hero, 106 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:04,000 a former slave turned power hungry advisor. Betrayals lead to public trials and more violence 107 00:09:04,000 --> 00:09:10,720 in the Colosseum with Lucius forced to face Acacius in combat, defying expectations of 108 00:09:10,720 --> 00:09:15,920 whom we're not sure. And the entire plot of the film. Yeah. Actually, I don't care about 109 00:09:15,920 --> 00:09:21,840 this anymore. See, let's go for a pint. See what I mean? Defying expectations of all plot 110 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:31,280 points so far and the entire gasping audience. Lucius spares his opponent's life, sparking 111 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:36,800 riots as the populace grows disillusioned with the emperor's tyranny. Chaos engulfs 112 00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:42,080 Rome as the conspirators, including Lucilla, are captured. Macronus, Denzel Washington, 113 00:09:42,080 --> 00:09:47,440 manipulates events to stage a deadly showdown in the Colosseum, pitting Lucius against overwhelming 114 00:09:47,440 --> 00:09:53,880 odds. Armed with Maximus's sword and armour, Lucius rallies the gladiators to revolt, leading 115 00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:58,360 to a bloody uprising. If you say that in a northern accent, it's better. Led to a bloody 116 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:03,960 uprising. Lucius sacrifices herself during the rebellion and Lucius discovers she had 117 00:10:03,960 --> 00:10:10,760 hidden his true heritage. He is Maximus's biological son. Yeah. Cause that was talked 118 00:10:10,760 --> 00:10:16,560 about loads in the first film. Wasn't it just wasn't the man of honor. Maximus Decimus 119 00:10:16,560 --> 00:10:21,560 Meridius made so much better by the fact that he had a second child that he knew about, 120 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:27,680 but just didn't care about. He had a dead one he wanted to get back to. After a climactic 121 00:10:27,680 --> 00:10:32,240 duel with Macronus, Lucius defeats him and declares himself the rightful leader, offering 122 00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:37,760 Rome a chance at renewal in the worthiest speech I've yet to see on cinema. The film 123 00:10:37,760 --> 00:10:41,840 concludes with Lucius mourning his losses, but embracing his role as a symbol of hope 124 00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:51,600 for a new Rome. Ta-da! In summation, gladiator one, done worse. Yeah. Yeah. It's, well, we'll 125 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:57,160 get into it. We will. What's Ridley been doing since gladiator? Because it seems to me like 126 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:02,000 he's just been going through the back catalogue and going, haven't ruined that yet. 127 00:11:02,000 --> 00:11:08,120 So Ridley, Ridley baffles me as a filmmaker. It's research in this. It, it kind of caught 128 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:17,600 me how prolific a filmmaker he is, right? With that much practice, I had a shoe that 129 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:23,220 there would be way more hits than misses. You see, I've got a point here. I think I've seen 130 00:11:23,220 --> 00:11:29,180 it happen creatively with musicians and I always use George Lucas as the example. Okay. 131 00:11:29,180 --> 00:11:35,620 On your way up, everyone around you is flagging your bad ideas. Right. So George Lucas making 132 00:11:35,620 --> 00:11:41,460 Star Wars had Lawrence Kasdan, he had Spielberg, he had people around him just going, George, 133 00:11:41,460 --> 00:11:45,920 this is twaddle. Yes. And he listens to that feedback and he took it on the chin because 134 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:50,600 he's a professional and he goes, great. Okay. I can work on this. That's bad. I'll cut that. 135 00:11:50,600 --> 00:11:57,640 I'll change this. It comes out, it defines a genre. It changes the epoch. It moves filmmaking 136 00:11:57,640 --> 00:12:02,120 forward. So he comes to make the prequels and he goes, I'm thinking about these like 137 00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:07,440 aliens that have got slanty eyes and they speak with an Asian accent and, and they're 138 00:12:07,440 --> 00:12:12,640 like shocked all the time and they're in charge of trade and no one's comfortable telling 139 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:18,480 George Lucas inventor of Star Wars that that's twaddle. Yes. Yes. I see what you're saying. 140 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:25,760 I'm going to have like a sort of Jamaican accented clown frogman. That's a little stereotype. 141 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:30,720 Yeah. That's how good you are at that. It's the only accent I'm good at and it's fucking 142 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:37,680 infuriating that that exists in me. It's brilliant. It's brilliant. You lose that filter because 143 00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:43,760 the people around you become sycophants and I see it, I saw it so often in music where 144 00:12:43,760 --> 00:12:50,840 no one's, no one feels comfortable going, you pay my mortgage because I am your employee 145 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:56,620 and I have to tell you that this is toss. Ridley makes loads of films now. I don't know 146 00:12:56,620 --> 00:13:01,840 anyone on a Ridley Scott shoot who'd be comfortable going, hello Ridley Scott, director of Alien 147 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:08,480 and Blade Runner and Gladiator. Have you considered that this is awful? Yeah. Hi, I'm me. I would 148 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:12,040 gladly do this every step of the way. Right. We're just going to have him running up here 149 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:16,120 like an excited, excited school child with some new crayons in his pocket. No, let's 150 00:13:16,120 --> 00:13:21,840 not. Right. Scrap it. Right. What if the first act is a beat for beat remix of the first 151 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:27,680 one, but with less convincing effects, less convincing characters, no dialogue to give 152 00:13:27,680 --> 00:13:32,480 you any backstory as to why you should care and loads of black and white flashbacks. Right. 153 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:38,120 The first act of this film is like a house remix of an Al Green song. Kinda, yeah. Like 154 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:45,840 a really good song that you love and someone's just going, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's better 155 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:51,680 now. And you're like, no, it is more modern. It is more modern. I will give you that. But 156 00:13:51,680 --> 00:13:55,760 I don't, I don't want this. I don't, I don't need this. Get this away from me. I don't 157 00:13:55,760 --> 00:14:01,560 know. Okay. Well, I see what you're saying. I've in my research and my travels through 158 00:14:01,560 --> 00:14:07,000 the Ridley Scott annals. Yeah. That's a word. Well done. Nice to pronounce it correctly 159 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:15,660 because it made me giggle. It's 17 films since Gladiator, buddy. Yeah. 17. And I went through 160 00:14:15,660 --> 00:14:20,160 them and I was like, okay, that's pretty good. You know, there's, there's a few bangers in 161 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:25,440 there. You've got Black Hawk Down from 2001. That's like a year after Gladiator. You've 162 00:14:25,440 --> 00:14:30,120 got American Gangster from 2007. That's it. That's a great film. Good film. Long film, 163 00:14:30,120 --> 00:14:35,240 but good. Long film. You've got The Martian from 2015. Very good film. Absolute toss in 164 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:40,160 between all of those apps. And the one thing that I've come to the conclusion of, and people 165 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:43,880 have said this to me in the past, I believe Amber from Control or Critique said this to 166 00:14:43,880 --> 00:14:52,240 me a little while ago. Ridley Scott is a great filmmaker, but he is a terrible script. He 167 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:56,920 just picks the worst scripts. I'm like, bless his bless his cock and balls. Right. This 168 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:02,200 is what I, this is what I think he does. He reads a story and goes, I find that really 169 00:15:02,200 --> 00:15:09,000 interesting because I'm a nerd and then forgets that 88% of the population loved Fast and 170 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:13,480 Furious. Right. You know what I mean? And it's like, you have to find the balance between 171 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:19,080 this buddy, like Napoleon, very interesting character, three hour Napoleon drama. Do we, 172 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:24,240 right. Do we need to ruin France? I disagree with you though, because I think, well, I 173 00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:28,600 partially disagree with you. Okay. You said he's terrible at picking scripts. That's without 174 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:36,480 question. Yeah. The Napoleon endurance test that he put out last year or whenever it was, 175 00:15:36,480 --> 00:15:40,720 he went so niche on that. He'd been looking to make a Napoleon film for years. He somehow 176 00:15:40,720 --> 00:15:45,000 managed to include all the bits that the general public wouldn't be interested in whilst getting 177 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:50,080 vast amounts of the historical information deliberately wrong to make it more relatable 178 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:55,280 to a general audience who already didn't care. Right. See what I mean? So his scripts are 179 00:15:55,280 --> 00:16:00,520 awful, but where I disagree with you is I don't think there's a single shot in the last 180 00:16:00,520 --> 00:16:05,640 15 years of Ridley Scott's filmmaking that I've looked at and gone, wow. Okay. We're 181 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:09,520 doing David Fincher series at the moment. There isn't a single shot in David Fincher 182 00:16:09,520 --> 00:16:15,120 film that I can't pause and go, that's a lovely thing to look at. Okay. I'm on the other side 183 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:20,200 of that fence. A lot of Ridley Scott's shots, a lot of Ridley Scott's shots are proper workmen. 184 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:23,720 I get what you're saying. There's two people in a frame. Get on with it. I get what you're 185 00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:28,720 saying. There are a few shots though that are gorgeous and I will stand by. Are they 186 00:16:28,720 --> 00:16:33,300 done with the camera or are they CGI shots? They're done with camera. Okay. It's mainly 187 00:16:33,300 --> 00:16:39,480 his set designer who I'm obsessed with. Like in this film, especially, there is some gorgeous 188 00:16:39,480 --> 00:16:46,200 backdrops. So that's Arthur Max, who is the production designer and we actually covered 189 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:51,240 another one of his films recently, believe it or not, because Arthur Max came straight 190 00:16:51,240 --> 00:16:56,200 off Gladiator One and he did Panic Room. Okay. So he's the guy that built the panic room 191 00:16:56,200 --> 00:17:03,080 house. Right. That's awesome. Right. You see what I mean? Like, and then so Gladiator One, 192 00:17:03,080 --> 00:17:08,200 Gladiator Two, The Martian was, is drop dead gorgeous. It was filmed in Jordan. There was 193 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:14,680 a lot of on location filming in Jordan. Jordan is a beautiful country. And that is like stunning. 194 00:17:14,680 --> 00:17:19,840 There are so many shots in that film that I would have as A3 posters on my wall. Maybe. 195 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:25,080 Just because they're gorgeous. Maybe. I think, I think again, praise the sets, praise the 196 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:29,440 locations, but he's not doing anything with the camera. I'm like, Ooh, that's a Ridley 197 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:34,020 Scott. Yeah. No, no, no. I get what you're saying. I wouldn't be able to pull a Ridley 198 00:17:34,020 --> 00:17:38,200 Scott shot out of a pile of shots in front of me. You know what I mean? Whereas Fincher, 199 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:42,720 I would a thousand percent go, Oh, that's piss blue. That's obviously Fincher. 200 00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:51,560 There's a lot in this film that I really, really don't like. I know. And it's upset 201 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:56,400 me because you loved Gladiator One. Like it's my favourite popcorn blockbuster. Yeah. You 202 00:17:56,400 --> 00:18:00,520 loved it. So what was, what's the difference between Gladiator One and Gladiator Two for 203 00:18:00,520 --> 00:18:04,640 you? I'm going to, in an attempt to not be my normal, 204 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:10,840 curmudgeonly moaning grumpy self, rather than tell the dear listeners everything that I 205 00:18:10,840 --> 00:18:16,200 hated about this film, I'm going to talk about the things that were in Gladiator One that 206 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:22,200 I wanted to see the sequel to. Awesome. I'm in for this. What I love most about Gladiator 207 00:18:22,200 --> 00:18:26,480 One is not the action or the set pieces, but the story and characters. We talked about 208 00:18:26,480 --> 00:18:31,760 this in our episode the other week. The first film had so much soul and depth that makes 209 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:37,400 you care about the action happening on screen. You cared about Maximus getting his revenge, 210 00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:42,840 not because it was cool or Fast and the Furious part 19, but because it was important for 211 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:46,520 his character. Yeah. It was just, it was a justified outcome 212 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:50,880 for that character. From his perspective, like vengeance for his family was not just 213 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:57,880 selfish. It's because when he saw them again in a minute when he dies, cause he knows he's 214 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:02,360 going to see them in the afterlife. He wants to be able to stand in front of them and be 215 00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:05,480 able to tell them that he made it right before coming along. 216 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:08,880 Thousand percent. It was incredible. I'm going to see my wife in a minute and I want 217 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:11,680 to be able to tell her, don't worry. I sorted it. 218 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:16,360 I avenged you. Conversely, right. Conversely, Commodus doesn't 219 00:19:16,360 --> 00:19:21,960 just kill Maximus. No. Which is always an option in gladiator one. He could do it at 220 00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:27,840 any point. He's the emperor of Rome. Yeah. And Maximus is a slave. Yeah. But Commodus 221 00:19:27,840 --> 00:19:33,520 doesn't because he wants something deeper. He wants to win the ideological battle and 222 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:40,560 he wants Maximus to die knowing that Commodus was right. Yes. That Commodus was a strong, 223 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:47,680 valid man worthy of respect. And killing Maximus was secondary to proving Maximus wrong. Yeah. 224 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:51,600 A thousand percent. Right. It made him one of the greatest villains. All of that beautiful 225 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:58,880 depth then meant when the action happened, I was super invested. I was super, super invested. 226 00:19:58,880 --> 00:20:06,400 Now the first third of this film remixes all of those action beats. Yeah. All of those 227 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:14,840 plot beats from we start with a big battle. Yep. The protagonist's family or wife is killed 228 00:20:14,840 --> 00:20:21,640 and he is sold into slavery. He then appears in a vaguely Middle Eastern small gladiatorial 229 00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:28,560 arena and meets his new owner. Yeah. All of which is a direct lift from gladiator one. 230 00:20:28,560 --> 00:20:35,780 Yep. But has none of the backstory. Nope. And so you're just watching this weird sort 231 00:20:35,780 --> 00:20:43,520 of requal. Yeah. That has none of the relatability of the original and then about halfway through 232 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:49,200 makes all of the stuff that you've seen so far no longer relevant to the story going 233 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:54,360 forward. Yeah. It's completely null and void. Right. He nulls and voids it by he gets to 234 00:20:54,360 --> 00:21:00,360 meet what has up till now been painted as the primary antagonist. Yeah. They sort it 235 00:21:00,360 --> 00:21:06,640 out and then that primary antagonist dies and then Macronus, who's the Oliver Reed equivalent 236 00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:11,320 is not presented as the antagonist. It's the Emperor's. So now you're supposed to hate 237 00:21:11,320 --> 00:21:16,900 the Emperor's, but then in the last act it becomes Macronus. So the villain keeps switching 238 00:21:16,900 --> 00:21:23,920 out. Yeah. And our primary hero has gone from wanting to avenge his wife to wanting to 239 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:30,000 reconnect with his mother to wanting to save the world. Yeah. It's a choose your own adventure 240 00:21:30,000 --> 00:21:39,800 that Mescal went on and won every time with incredible ease and with no real danger to 241 00:21:39,800 --> 00:21:44,680 it because everyone likes him. Right. Everyone is on his side. Yes. He can rally an entire 242 00:21:44,680 --> 00:21:51,880 army for no other reason other than the fact that he's Mescal. Like that's it. And the 243 00:21:51,880 --> 00:21:57,760 times in which it apes the first one is worse because the first fight in Gladiator is he's 244 00:21:57,760 --> 00:22:03,320 fighting other gladiators and it's visceral and it's practical and it's dirty. That's 245 00:22:03,320 --> 00:22:10,800 it. In this one, bring it home. He chokes a bald monkey. It's a hairless monkey that 246 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:16,400 he bites and then chokes out. So it's just Paul Mescal choking his monkey in front of 247 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:24,160 a crowd. Nailed it. The first battle rather than being a real forest with a thousand extras, 248 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:30,240 all just getting down in the mud while the trees burn, all done practically. It's a sort 249 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:38,840 of bizarre ropey CGI age of empires. Yeah. Battle scene with the honestly, if you've 250 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:45,520 played a Mario game, you've seen better CGI water. Dude, the water is awful. Play Zelda 251 00:22:45,520 --> 00:22:52,640 Wind Waker. You'll be more convinced. Dude, play anything that's like Sega Game Gear up 252 00:22:52,640 --> 00:22:58,720 and it's better water. Do you know what I mean? Like Game Gear plus is better water. 253 00:22:58,720 --> 00:23:03,760 I'll agree with you wholeheartedly. It's very confused and I just, I don't know who this 254 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:10,760 is for because it's bringing back enough of the first film that it feels like you don't 255 00:23:10,760 --> 00:23:14,200 need to watch the first film because it's giving you all of that. Right. It's like if 256 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:18,960 you're a new watcher, here's the first one done again. Yeah. But if you're going to do 257 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:23,960 that, don't tie it to the first one plot wise because it has to crowbar so much in. I know 258 00:23:23,960 --> 00:23:28,880 mate. That isn't relevant to someone who doesn't like Gladiator One. So this is my thought 259 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:34,760 process, right? I feel like when way back in 2000 and we were presented with Gladiator, 260 00:23:34,760 --> 00:23:40,960 we had this gorgeous film. Yeah. Full of depth, full of soul, full of heart. It had great 261 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:46,240 characters. It had great antagonists. It had great action, had everything that you needed 262 00:23:46,240 --> 00:23:52,200 from a film and it lived with us forever. Right. Now in 2024, when you talk to the new 263 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:56,520 generation about Gladiator, they're like, I don't care about this weird sword and sandal 264 00:23:56,520 --> 00:24:03,160 movie that came out 24 years ago. That I always see in the charity shop on DVD. Exactly. It's 265 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:09,160 99p in every single charity shop. I don't care. Yeah. And I think what they've done 266 00:24:09,160 --> 00:24:13,400 is they've tried to recreate the magic of the first one for the new generation, but 267 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:19,360 we're living in a different time, right? We're living in a time now where it's instant information. 268 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:25,120 It's instant gratification. There's no patience. There's no slow build. You're in, here's the 269 00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:29,480 story, you're out. And Ridley's almost tried to capitalize on this. I don't think Ridley's 270 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:34,760 built for it. If I'm honest with you, I don't think he does. He doesn't do straight in, 271 00:24:34,760 --> 00:24:38,480 straight out movies. He needs the slow build and he needs to sort of lean into it rather 272 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:45,280 than fight it. It's odd. This movies are if your granddad made an app. It's that. It's 273 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:50,160 that. It's, it's, and I'm kind of, I'm kind of weirdly jealous in some ways because there's 274 00:24:50,160 --> 00:24:54,680 a lot of, a lot of the younger generation are enjoying it. And I love that. Like that's 275 00:24:54,680 --> 00:24:57,840 awesome that you're enjoying this film. And if you are, if you're one of the people that 276 00:24:57,840 --> 00:25:03,700 love this film, I'm so incredibly jealous, but also it's incredible that you get what 277 00:25:03,700 --> 00:25:09,400 we had in 2000. It might not be for our taste in because we had gladiator. Like this isn't 278 00:25:09,400 --> 00:25:14,240 for us. It's not for gladiator fans. Everyone that's asked me, I've looked at them and the 279 00:25:14,240 --> 00:25:18,360 sort of under 25s I've been like, you should go. You probably love it. Exactly. The over 280 00:25:18,360 --> 00:25:23,860 thirties. I'm like, nah, no, no, no, no, no, not for us. Not for us. It's just not made 281 00:25:23,860 --> 00:25:28,920 for us. And I think we're going to have to start, we're going to have to start recognizing 282 00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:34,520 that a lot of cinema is made for a demographic that we no longer belong to. We've outgrown 283 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:39,560 it mate. We're sort of fossils in this cinematic audience now. You know what I mean? And if 284 00:25:39,560 --> 00:25:43,200 you're listening to this show, you probably are too. Thousand percent. Cause I've seen 285 00:25:43,200 --> 00:25:49,520 our demographics mate. And you know what I mean? I see you buddies. I see you 29 to 35 286 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:54,200 year old buddies. All right. So, so he's okay. He's tried to update it clearly. Yeah. And 287 00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:58,240 he's done it for a new generation and it's nice and it's lovely. It's not for us. I get 288 00:25:58,240 --> 00:26:03,240 that. Um, this film wasn't anywhere near as bad as I thought it was going to be. Right. 289 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:09,400 And I actually, whilst I was watching it, I had some fun. Right. The monkey thing, hilarious. 290 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:14,020 Sharks in the Coliseum, hilarious. You know what I mean? Like the dumb stuff that was 291 00:26:14,020 --> 00:26:18,360 in there. Sharks in the Coliseum. I've literally in my notes got written deep blue Caesar. 292 00:26:18,360 --> 00:26:25,160 Oh, that hurt my chest, but that was so worth it. That's amazing. Do you have any idea how 293 00:26:25,160 --> 00:26:29,840 much of a life goal it would be that I tell a joke so funny that you die? I'd say, yeah, 294 00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:34,560 dude, if you do it, that's, that's the, that's the, just do the B movie solo. Do you know 295 00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:38,640 what I mean? Just do the next episode is B movie solo. And it's I accidentally, I was 296 00:26:38,640 --> 00:26:43,920 accidentally so funny that I killed a man. You know what I mean? That would be brilliant. 297 00:26:43,920 --> 00:26:47,320 Yeah. Cause it would have to be accidental as well. I don't have it in me to do it. You'd 298 00:26:47,320 --> 00:26:54,760 have to do a standup tour called rest in peace. You know what I mean? The whole thing was 299 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:58,920 wicked. I had a great fun with it because I went in with such bad expectations. I was 300 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:02,960 like, I'm going to be so angry. And then I started enjoying it. The first bit I was like, 301 00:27:02,960 --> 00:27:07,100 this is so thin. The story's really thin. It's a terror. I don't care about his wife. 302 00:27:07,100 --> 00:27:12,080 She said four words, the entire film. Now she's dead. I don't care. Uh, the only things 303 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:16,840 I've seen, I've seen her get assaulted through a laundry line. That's, that's it. That's 304 00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:21,360 her character arc for me. Also she can fire bow and arrow mint. And then it got a bit 305 00:27:21,360 --> 00:27:27,440 twisty tourney with the twin emperors. I liked that aspect. I liked that it was two evils 306 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:31,960 sort of which one was lesser evil. They were trying to sort of, it was like a yang and 307 00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:38,280 yang. There was no yin. No, it was, it was a dog. It was a, it was a piss poor deconstruction 308 00:27:38,280 --> 00:27:42,520 of whack in Phoenix's two modes in the first one. Yeah, it was. What if instead of having 309 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:47,000 it in one person, we just had two blokes and one of them's a bit mental and one of them's 310 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:51,800 a little bit sensitive. I'm a massive Joseph Quinn fan boy though. So he, for me, he was 311 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:56,240 like, he was fun to watch. He nailed his character. He's a great actor. I think he did it well. 312 00:27:56,240 --> 00:28:02,280 And then whenever Denzel Washington came onto the stage, I was like, Oh, this is the film. 313 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:06,640 This is where the film's been hiding the entire three hours I've been sat here. The film has 314 00:28:06,640 --> 00:28:11,680 been tucked away in Denzel Washington's pocket because that's the most interesting part. 315 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:16,880 When he's on screen. Yeah. The film works. It's incredible. But his excellence makes 316 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:22,120 everything worse by comparison. It really does. It's a great cast in, but simultaneously 317 00:28:22,120 --> 00:28:27,880 terrible cast in because he's so good. Right. The rest of the film is piss weak. I would 318 00:28:27,880 --> 00:28:34,920 say he, he comes across as actually balls to the wall, gripping hit homosexual. Whereas 319 00:28:34,920 --> 00:28:41,000 everything else comes across as cheap camp. Yes. Yeah. I look at him and I go, he might 320 00:28:41,000 --> 00:28:46,800 actually make love to me and change my orientation. The rest of the film is a football fan. Yeah. 321 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:55,440 In a dress. Yes. On October 30th. Yeah. On a stag do in Berlin, duct taped to a lamppost. 322 00:28:55,440 --> 00:29:00,240 Right. Right. That's it. Yeah. No, you're right. And I kind of, I'm just, I just don't 323 00:29:00,240 --> 00:29:06,600 get why Ridley did this now. I've got, okay. Besides the money. I've got some answers for 324 00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:13,080 you bud, because I found, I found some stuff that Ridley said about why gladiator two took 325 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:19,960 so long to make. So I've, I've selected two quotes. One is from 2023 when he's sort of 326 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:23,960 like, he's, you know, it's wrapping up. He's actively like, I'm very excited about this. 327 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:28,600 This is going to be great. And then I have one from 2024 and you will see the stock difference 328 00:29:28,600 --> 00:29:34,960 in his attitude towards gladiator two buddy. Right. So in 2023, when Ridley Scott was asked 329 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:43,000 why now, why, why gladiator two in 2024 in 2023, Ridley Scott says, why now? Well, it 330 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:48,120 didn't have a script before we tried actually four years ago. And I chose a very good writer 331 00:29:48,120 --> 00:29:52,320 who couldn't get his head around it. He wrestled with it. He was terribly upset that he didn't 332 00:29:52,320 --> 00:30:00,080 deliver. He's a friend of mine. I said, Oh, you're not getting there. And he said, no, 333 00:30:00,080 --> 00:30:06,140 that took 10 months. So it went dead. And then we circled the wagons again, coming back 334 00:30:06,140 --> 00:30:13,240 with a very obvious idea. And why not? There is a survivor. The survivor is the son of 335 00:30:13,240 --> 00:30:20,800 the union between Lucilla and Maximus. You can tell that he's excited about it, right? 336 00:30:20,800 --> 00:30:25,160 He's typing it up. He's like, dude, this is it. This is why it took so long. I finally 337 00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:28,880 cracked this nut. This is it. We found the story that needs to be told. This is how we 338 00:30:28,880 --> 00:30:34,920 continue the saga. Yes. He's excited about it. Ridley Scott in 2024 was asked, why did 339 00:30:34,920 --> 00:30:42,400 it take 24 years to remake it to sequel gladiator? It me, frankly, mate, we're all busy. So honestly, 340 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:50,640 no one really cared. That's the end of quote. He was, he's so, so he's, he's as deflated 341 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:56,880 as my left lung about this film, right? He's just sort of like, nah, I'm done. Yeah. He's 342 00:30:56,880 --> 00:31:00,480 like, well, it is what it is. It's going out. Enjoy it. Why did it take this long? Busy. 343 00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:06,440 I feel like I watched an interview with Mike Tyson this week. Cause he's for those of you 344 00:31:06,440 --> 00:31:11,000 listening in the future, he's just done his boxing fight with a YouTube. Oh yeah. He was 345 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:15,720 interviewed by a 12 year old. Okay. And the 12 year old said, when you retire, what do 346 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:19,880 you want to be your legacy? And he looked this child in the face and he went, legacy 347 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:26,280 is bullshit. It's a made up word. It's a made up word that people have latched onto and 348 00:31:26,280 --> 00:31:32,360 it doesn't mean anything because after all of this, I'll be dead. We'll all be dead. 349 00:31:32,360 --> 00:31:41,960 We'll be dust. You'll die. You'll be dust too. And nothing will matter. I love, I love 350 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:48,040 Mike Tyson's current arc. Like his ruin a childhood winter. I'm into it. I feel like 351 00:31:48,040 --> 00:31:54,600 we need to sit Ridley Scott down with Mike Tyson and have Mike Tyson just explain, you 352 00:31:54,600 --> 00:32:01,520 don't have to make films Ridley. You don't have to release films. You can make it go, 353 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:06,280 Ooh, actually. And then just decide to not bring it out. Yeah. I mean, he did, he did 354 00:32:06,280 --> 00:32:10,280 do that a little bit, right? So I'm gonna, I'm gonna, we're going to go into a mirror 355 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:16,560 dimension right now, Ben. Oh, okay. Cause not long after gladiator one, Russell Crowe 356 00:32:16,560 --> 00:32:21,840 kind of felt that there was room for a sequel, you know, big breakout hit for him. So he 357 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:28,720 approached his mate, Nick cave musician and screenwriter. He wrote quite a few scripts 358 00:32:28,720 --> 00:32:33,400 that are actually really good. Really, really good. Great script writer. He writes long 359 00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:37,560 scripts, but he's an incredible songwriter. One of my favorite musicians. And Russell 360 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:42,800 Crowe is like, do you want to give this a crack? And he did. Okay. He got leaked a couple 361 00:32:42,800 --> 00:32:46,800 years back. So what we're going to do now is we're going to slip inside the twilight 362 00:32:46,800 --> 00:32:51,960 zone. And I've written a second break. I say written, I've ripped off, I've ripped off 363 00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:56,280 a second breakdown. Amazing. Oh my God. You have, I can see it. Do you want to, do you 364 00:32:56,280 --> 00:33:01,480 want to kick us off? Yes, please. You do the first part and I'll do the second part. All 365 00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:11,480 right. I got you. Caves gladiator two screenplay opens with Maximus waking up in the afterlife 366 00:33:11,480 --> 00:33:16,360 to his disappointment. It isn't the sun kissed Elysium that he dreamt of in gladiator, but 367 00:33:16,360 --> 00:33:21,640 an endless rain, sudden nether world where wretched refugees huddle on the shores of 368 00:33:21,640 --> 00:33:27,600 a black ocean. But the help of a ghostly guide, Maximus treks to a ruined temple where he 369 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:39,000 meets Jupiter Mars and five other diseased and decrepit Roman deities. Jupiter explains 370 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:47,880 that, Oh my God, Jupiter explains that one of their number have faced us, have faced 371 00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:56,200 us. Yup. Has betrayed them and is now preaching the gospel of another God. Bastard. It was 372 00:33:56,200 --> 00:34:01,840 more powerful than all of them. Jupiter offers him a deal. Remember this is Maximus from 373 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:07,440 gladiator. Yes. Offers him a deal. If he kills the face, this, then he will be reunited with 374 00:34:07,440 --> 00:34:12,200 his wife and son in the golden wheat fields of Elysium. Right. No sooner has Maximus tracked 375 00:34:12,200 --> 00:34:18,080 down her faces than he zapped out of the gloom and into the world of flesh and blood a decade 376 00:34:18,080 --> 00:34:24,040 or two after his death. What human again, he travels to Rome in search of his son Marius, 377 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:29,920 Marius, who was crucified and burned to death in gladiator is alive and kicking in gladiator 378 00:34:29,920 --> 00:34:36,680 too. Fantastic. I'm on board. At this stage, the script focuses on a band of early Christians 379 00:34:36,680 --> 00:34:41,000 dodging the Roman authorities, right? But these scenes also bring back some of the characters 380 00:34:41,000 --> 00:34:46,360 and political intrigue from gladiator, right? As well as meeting his now adult son, he bumps 381 00:34:46,360 --> 00:34:52,280 into Juba who's played by a Jimon Hanzu. Okay. And the screenplays villain is none other 382 00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:58,080 than commisness, his nephew, Lucius, now grown up to be as evil as his uncle. That's incredible. 383 00:34:58,080 --> 00:35:03,560 Now, okay. Are you ready for how this film ends? No. Ben, I want you, I'm so happy that 384 00:35:03,560 --> 00:35:08,080 you're reading this third paragraph. Go for it, bud. All right. I'm in it. You ready? 385 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:13,520 Yeah. Everything leads to a showdown between Lucius's Roman enforcers and the Christian 386 00:35:13,520 --> 00:35:20,720 resistance army, which Maximus and Juba have been training in secret. Yeah. Okay. And then 387 00:35:20,720 --> 00:35:27,040 what? Another chat with the Roman gods, a family reunion in sunny Elysium. Well, no. 388 00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:38,400 Instead, instead, instead cave has Maximus striding into battle through the centuries 389 00:35:38,400 --> 00:35:47,840 in crusades, in the world wars, in Vietnam. And finally the Pentagon. Yep. In a grand 390 00:35:47,840 --> 00:35:56,880 division of the opening montage of expert origins, Wolverine. The message is that by 391 00:35:56,880 --> 00:36:04,200 choosing armed combat over nonviolent resistance, Maximus has condemned humanity to an eternal 392 00:36:04,200 --> 00:36:10,960 cycle of bloodshed, which is a thought provoking conclusion, but maybe not a cloud, a crowd 393 00:36:10,960 --> 00:36:16,480 pleasing one. Right. Buddy. Right. I want this film so badly. 394 00:36:16,480 --> 00:36:24,120 The title of the screenplay was gladiator to hyphen Christ killer. Yes. God, I want 395 00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:30,840 this. It was the Roman gods hiring Maximus to put down this new fangled religion, dude, 396 00:36:30,840 --> 00:36:35,720 him turning against them and going, no, actually Jesus Christ. This is mint would be played 397 00:36:35,720 --> 00:36:41,080 by Danny Trejo with a machete. Like that's the only way that this would play out. Right. 398 00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:46,720 Hola, hola. I'm Jesus Christ. And then he just takes out an entire army with his Christ 399 00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:50,920 sword. You know what I mean? That's dude. I want this so bad. It's the best. It's the 400 00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:56,560 best worst B movie plot I've ever heard in my entire life. And it's gladiator to, I've 401 00:36:56,560 --> 00:37:01,680 got two quotes for you. Hit me up. Russell Crowe. Yeah. On reading the script that he'd 402 00:37:01,680 --> 00:37:07,120 commissioned Nick cave to write. Yeah. Uh, his quote don't like it, mate. Okay. Yeah. 403 00:37:07,120 --> 00:37:11,960 It's not a scientist. Simple. Just don't like it, mate. However, he said, I enjoyed writing 404 00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:17,880 it very much because I knew on every level of my being that it was never going to get 405 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:26,400 made. Let's call it a popcorn dropper. Do you know what I love about this? Right. I 406 00:37:26,400 --> 00:37:30,520 found an interview with Russell Crowe and it was like, well, well my idea for gladiator 407 00:37:30,520 --> 00:37:36,920 to was Maximus. He's killed too many people to go to heaven, but he's too good of a person 408 00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:43,000 to go to hell. So the second film is Maximus in limbo and he's fighting his way back to 409 00:37:43,000 --> 00:37:48,080 his family and he makes some deals with some gods and he does X, Y, and Z and it all makes 410 00:37:48,080 --> 00:37:53,720 sense and it's all plausible. It's all justifiable. And he ends up back in the human world with 411 00:37:53,720 --> 00:37:58,880 his newly newly revived wife and son. And it's like, right buddy. That's just as bad 412 00:37:58,880 --> 00:38:05,140 as the same Pentagon man running script that you've just read me. Do you know what I mean? 413 00:38:05,140 --> 00:38:09,800 That's mental. I think Russell Crowe saw this film as sort of like the sci-fi, the sci-fi 414 00:38:09,800 --> 00:38:12,200 springboard that he really needed to get going. 415 00:38:12,200 --> 00:38:18,640 Well, so related to that is when Nick Cave was given the job of writing the sequel, he 416 00:38:18,640 --> 00:38:23,960 said to Russell Crowe, I thought you died at the end of the first one. Russell Crowe's 417 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:27,120 response was, yeah, but you're the writer. So that's a you problem. 418 00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:33,840 Yeah, that's fair. That's fair. That is true. That is true. It's a problem. That's on you. 419 00:38:33,840 --> 00:38:38,560 That's what I'm paying you to do. What else is your job? Make it work, buddy. So with 420 00:38:38,560 --> 00:38:44,960 this film, we've gone into a lot of stuff as to sort of like why we don't like it, why 421 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:50,080 it doesn't compare as well to the first one. There's a few bits that I do love that are 422 00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:54,920 great. Yes. There's some bits that had me howling. I can never get over Mescal running up the 423 00:38:54,920 --> 00:39:00,700 stairs. That was a ridiculous, an excited Terrier. Legitimately a kid with crayons in his pocket 424 00:39:00,700 --> 00:39:04,360 and his mama just dropped a new notepad on the kitchen counter. He ran up them stairs 425 00:39:04,360 --> 00:39:08,640 like no man's business. It was amazing. It's like, buddy, you're a gladiator. You could 426 00:39:08,640 --> 00:39:14,000 die in 30 seconds. This is how you want to enter the arena. Thousands of people are cheering 427 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:20,200 your name. Amazing. It's amazing. I want the confidence to do that run in real life. You 428 00:39:20,200 --> 00:39:25,400 know what I mean? 100% anywhere. There's tons of this stuff, but you said you had a conjecture 429 00:39:25,400 --> 00:39:29,320 corner as to what happened and why you think it went this way. I'm desperate to hear that. 430 00:39:29,320 --> 00:39:31,640 I do. 431 00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:49,040 So I've got, I've got a couple of questions for you and I know the answer because we've 432 00:39:49,040 --> 00:39:54,360 been speaking about it and it's fine. In your opinion, do you feel that this film delivered 433 00:39:54,360 --> 00:40:00,080 in what it promised? 434 00:40:00,080 --> 00:40:04,760 Objectively not subjectively to you and I, but objectively as a film. 435 00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:11,720 In that it is a film set in the same universe as the first gladiator that continues a plot 436 00:40:11,720 --> 00:40:18,680 set after the events of the first one. Right. Yes. It is a sequel to gladiator. Okay. In 437 00:40:18,680 --> 00:40:28,720 that it provides a similar nylon, identical story beats and action set pieces. Yes. It 438 00:40:28,720 --> 00:40:35,040 is a sequel to gladiator. Okay. It's not a sequel to the parts of gladiator I care about. 439 00:40:35,040 --> 00:40:41,980 Okay. That's that's fair. That's fair. Yeah. That's fair. If you, if you kind of like gladiator, 440 00:40:41,980 --> 00:40:47,320 if you think it's an all right film, this is a perfectly fine sequel. Agreed. If you 441 00:40:47,320 --> 00:40:53,840 really like the depth and complexity of gladiator one, this film is not for you. It is not. 442 00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:59,040 It is not. What about you? I think, I think it did deliver. I think it delivered what 443 00:40:59,040 --> 00:41:05,400 I'd promised. It promised a sword and sandal epic film that's a bit of an endurance test 444 00:41:05,400 --> 00:41:10,120 and it has twists and turns. It's just that the twists and turns were a bit thin on the 445 00:41:10,120 --> 00:41:16,280 ground for me. I mean, I'm into B movies and not supported by the characterization. I don't 446 00:41:16,280 --> 00:41:23,200 at all. No, I feel like the films that I'm into B movies, cheap independent movies. I 447 00:41:23,200 --> 00:41:31,400 mean, yesterday I convinced my friends to watch man Borg, which is a Stephen Kostanksky 448 00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:36,840 film who he made it on less. It was less than a grand. I think it was 560 quid. He made 449 00:41:36,840 --> 00:41:43,800 the film on. Okay. And it has more character development and plot armor than anything that 450 00:41:43,800 --> 00:41:52,840 I saw in gladiator two. That sounds mean, right? Because it's a $350 million movie. 451 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:59,320 I enjoyed a lot of it. Fun stuff. Would I do it again? Absolutely not because my expectations 452 00:41:59,320 --> 00:42:04,560 are like normal now. They're not in the ground. Yeah. I don't think I'd enjoy it as much as 453 00:42:04,560 --> 00:42:08,920 a second time, the second watch through, but you know, it is what it is. It is what it 454 00:42:08,920 --> 00:42:16,160 is. Would you like to know how much this has made in its opening weekend? Yeah. So, so 455 00:42:16,160 --> 00:42:21,280 as of recording, it's currently Friday, the 22nd. This has been out for one full week. 456 00:42:21,280 --> 00:42:28,880 So what's the current takings for its first week? Currently it's at 98, 98.9 million. 457 00:42:28,880 --> 00:42:35,280 So it's, it's, it's a bee's dick away from a hundred mil. Right. Okay. In its first week, 458 00:42:35,280 --> 00:42:38,960 it's not that bad. That's not that bad at all, especially considering that there will 459 00:42:38,960 --> 00:42:43,440 be numbers that it's earned this week that aren't part of that accounting yet because 460 00:42:43,440 --> 00:42:48,400 cinemas are slow to post numbers and all this kind of stuff. Exactly. So that's, it's doing 461 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:52,680 great. It's doing bits. I hope it's successful. I hope people get what we got from gladiator 462 00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:59,160 one from this one. And again, like I say, if you thought gladiator one was fine, you 463 00:42:59,160 --> 00:43:03,880 will, you will enjoy this sequel just as much. It's no more, no less. In the same way that 464 00:43:03,880 --> 00:43:10,560 like if, if you thought ghostbusters were fine, you will think ghostbusters afterlife 465 00:43:10,560 --> 00:43:18,840 is equally fine. If you love ghostbusters, you will adore ghostbusters afterlife. Yeah. 466 00:43:18,840 --> 00:43:23,920 This is the inverse of that. Yeah. I see. I see. I see. I see. This is, this is the 467 00:43:23,920 --> 00:43:30,720 sequel for people who aren't fans of the first film, which is a mind boggling thing to make. 468 00:43:30,720 --> 00:43:35,920 Right. Right. Would you like to play a game? I'd love to play a game. I've got no idea 469 00:43:35,920 --> 00:43:46,520 what this is. Okay. So I, in my omnipotent wisdom have found a Ridley Scott quiz. Uh, 470 00:43:46,520 --> 00:43:51,960 have I done it? No. Am I prepared to do it along with you? Heck yes. Is it 25 questions 471 00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:57,720 that I'll have to edit down to four for time? I think it's six questions. It's hitting me 472 00:43:57,720 --> 00:44:03,240 and it's giving me ants under my skin that it's six. Just round it out. Go 10. Go five. 473 00:44:03,240 --> 00:44:07,320 Go five. Go five. Because the number of the number of first speed quizzes that you've 474 00:44:07,320 --> 00:44:12,840 brought to the show and you're like, it's 24 questions. I'm like, ah, at the end of 475 00:44:12,840 --> 00:44:16,520 it, you find out that you're the same Disney princess. Right. Are you ready for this one? 476 00:44:16,520 --> 00:44:25,320 I am. This is called, how well do you know your Ridley Scott films? Question one. This 477 00:44:25,320 --> 00:44:30,360 one's a hard one straight off the bat. You ready? Yeah. My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius 478 00:44:30,360 --> 00:44:35,080 commander of the armies of the general of the Felix legions, loyal servant to the true 479 00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:40,160 emperor Marcus Aurelius father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will 480 00:44:40,160 --> 00:44:46,000 have my vengeance in this life or in the next. It's on the tip of my tongue. In which iconic 481 00:44:46,000 --> 00:44:52,040 Ridley Scott film did this line feature in? Is it a kingdom of heaven? Is it gladiator 482 00:44:52,040 --> 00:44:57,960 or is it see Robin hood? I'm going to say gladiator. You have said gladiator. I'm going 483 00:44:57,960 --> 00:45:02,160 to lock that one in. We sure with that? I'm I I'm no, but I'm going to go with it. I'm 484 00:45:02,160 --> 00:45:06,200 going to trust my gut. All right, mate. This is another, this is another hard one. Prepare 485 00:45:06,200 --> 00:45:11,720 yourself. Frank Lucas was an American drug trafficker who offered, who operated in Harlem 486 00:45:11,720 --> 00:45:17,360 during the late, right? The late 1960s to early 1970s. He was known for cutting out 487 00:45:17,360 --> 00:45:21,680 middlemen in the drug trade and buying heroin directly from its source. The golden triangle 488 00:45:21,680 --> 00:45:27,640 of the Southeast Asia. So he was convicted of drug trafficking in 1976. It became an 489 00:45:27,640 --> 00:45:34,760 informant. Which Ridley Scott film is based on the life of Frank Lucas? American Gangster. 490 00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:38,320 Well that's not one of the multiple choice, I'm afraid, buddy. Yes, it is. It's body of 491 00:45:38,320 --> 00:45:43,160 lies. American Gangster or the counselor. Right. So I'll go with American Gangster. I think 492 00:45:43,160 --> 00:45:49,360 I would do that one as well, buddy. Right. Okay. Yeah. In Greek mythology, blank is a 493 00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:56,240 Titan God of fire. Blank is credited with the creation of humanity from clay and of 494 00:45:56,240 --> 00:46:01,800 defying the gods by stealing fire and giving it to humanity as civilization. Which Ridley 495 00:46:01,800 --> 00:46:10,680 Scott's films is named after the Greek God? Is it A Prometheus? Is it B Hannibal? Or is 496 00:46:10,680 --> 00:46:19,520 it C Exodus Gods and Kings? Oh my God, can you imagine if it was C and there were people 497 00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:23,680 in their classics degree going. Yeah. The interesting thing about the way that Zeus 498 00:46:23,680 --> 00:46:29,360 punished Exodus Gods and Kings was he tied him to a rock where a hawk could eat out his 499 00:46:29,360 --> 00:46:35,360 liver every day. That's it. No, it was Prometheus. He also wasn't a Titan, but that's fine. It's 500 00:46:35,360 --> 00:46:42,120 fine. Let's just breeze on. Wadi Rum, also known as the Valley of the Moon is a valley 501 00:46:42,120 --> 00:46:47,360 cut into the sandstone and granite rock in Southern Jordan. I've spoken about this already. 502 00:46:47,360 --> 00:46:53,200 I've ruined it. Which among the following Ridley Scott films used the location for shooting 503 00:46:53,200 --> 00:46:59,680 various external scenes? Was it A Kingdom of heaven? Was it B The Martian or was it 504 00:46:59,680 --> 00:47:06,240 C Blade Runner? I'm going to go with, oh, and I, I, I, you know, I was listening to 505 00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:12,200 this great podcast earlier. Yeah. And I'm pretty sure it was The Martian. Oh, they sound 506 00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:19,120 smart and hung. Right. Which actor appeared in the role of JD, a cowboy hitchhiker in 507 00:47:19,120 --> 00:47:24,720 the 1991 Ridley Scott film Thelma and Louise? Is it A Robert Downey Jr. B Leonardo DiCaprio 508 00:47:24,720 --> 00:47:33,520 or C Brad Pitt? Oh, it is. I'm going to say Brad Pitt. You scored 100% of the Ridley Scott 509 00:47:33,520 --> 00:47:43,080 quiz. The hardest Ridley Scott quiz known to man. This is why we have got a podcast, 510 00:47:43,080 --> 00:47:47,040 you know, it's just that deep knowledge. Now we just know movies. You know what I mean? 511 00:47:47,040 --> 00:47:50,040 We've got in the notes here that we're going to get into the rating, but before we do, 512 00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:52,920 I'm going to do something that I know we're definitely going to cut, right? Which is this 513 00:47:52,920 --> 00:47:56,400 week's comment corner. Cause I was going to say, let's go through some of the comments 514 00:47:56,400 --> 00:48:02,040 on the Patreon. Yep. I've got a different comment that I want to discuss. Okay. And 515 00:48:02,040 --> 00:48:05,640 it's going to be like a little mini game. You ready for this? Yeah. Let's do it. We 516 00:48:05,640 --> 00:48:10,040 posted on Instagram earlier, a little mini review of the film. They cloned Tyrone, which 517 00:48:10,040 --> 00:48:15,680 I watched recently and I adored, right? I've still not said it. Ross Grant said, I feel 518 00:48:15,680 --> 00:48:22,880 that every film is missing Jamie Foxx as a pimp, to be honest. Ooh, yes. Now I then replied 519 00:48:22,880 --> 00:48:27,440 so obviously what film would be most enhanced with Jamie Foxx as a pimp. Now I've had a 520 00:48:27,440 --> 00:48:33,240 go. Yeah. I've said the zone of interest. Oh mate. I went the exact same thing. My first 521 00:48:33,240 --> 00:48:39,400 thought was Schindler's List. Right. Yeah. But then Ross has come back with clearly it's 522 00:48:39,400 --> 00:48:45,560 12 years a slave. Oh, that'd be a good one. That's a good one. What about the boy in the 523 00:48:45,560 --> 00:48:51,400 striped pajamas? But instead of the boy in the striped pajamas, it's just Jamie Foxx 524 00:48:51,400 --> 00:48:59,720 as a pimp in striped pajamas. I was thinking maybe Sophie's Choice. Oh, he has to choose 525 00:48:59,720 --> 00:49:05,280 between Sophie or Sophie. Which one gone get that dick. I wasn't going to go there. Now 526 00:49:05,280 --> 00:49:09,600 I was going to go to the exact same film. That's just Jamie Foxx as a pimp and has the 527 00:49:09,600 --> 00:49:15,440 chat with her about which child is. Yeah. I thought it'd be interesting to invite the 528 00:49:15,440 --> 00:49:22,360 listeners. Okay. To jump on board. I want to know what film would be most enhanced by 529 00:49:22,360 --> 00:49:28,560 Jamie Foxx playing a pimp in the film. We've covered the obvious basis now. Now it's time 530 00:49:28,560 --> 00:49:34,240 to get creative. Jurassic Park. He's in one of the enclosures. Just pimp slap in Richard 531 00:49:34,240 --> 00:49:39,560 Attenborough as he goes past. Jurassic Park as one of the, one of the people in the Jeeps 532 00:49:39,560 --> 00:49:46,360 and he's just assessing every dinosaur for its worth on the sexual market. Yes. How many 533 00:49:46,360 --> 00:49:51,640 people want to fuck is a triceratops. Oh my God. We went to the same place. I love you. 534 00:49:51,640 --> 00:49:56,560 I love you too. Okay. Yeah. I'm down for this. Yeah. I just, just, just give us the film. 535 00:49:56,560 --> 00:50:01,040 Give us what you think he'd be doing. It's on the, it's on Instagram. It's a mini review 536 00:50:01,040 --> 00:50:06,840 of they clone Tyrone. Get involved. I just want, I want chaos. I want chaos. What are 537 00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:15,160 you rating gladiator two? So this is an interesting one because it's the first film and like, 538 00:50:15,160 --> 00:50:21,760 I went to go see the crow remake and it was everything I expected it to be. Yeah. It was 539 00:50:21,760 --> 00:50:27,920 pure show. I was kind of cued into like it's pure show. And like, I love the original crow, 540 00:50:27,920 --> 00:50:35,880 but a remake is so far removed. It doesn't, it doesn't worsen or affect the prior work. 541 00:50:35,880 --> 00:50:39,520 Do you know what I mean? Like there could be as many remakes of the crow as you like, 542 00:50:39,520 --> 00:50:46,600 but the 1994 Alex Pryor's one is, is just what it is. Right. Yeah. Gladiator two, I 543 00:50:46,600 --> 00:50:53,520 was struggling to like laugh quietly at quite a lot of the very serious dramatic moments 544 00:50:53,520 --> 00:51:01,800 in this film. Yeah. There's a bit at the end where Paul Meskell walks back into the Coliseum 545 00:51:01,800 --> 00:51:14,200 at the very end and it's playing the Lisa Gerard. And he reaches down and I'm like, 546 00:51:14,200 --> 00:51:20,960 if this mother pulls out two clay figurines, oh my God, I had the same thought. I was like, 547 00:51:20,960 --> 00:51:26,800 don't you dare, don't you dare. Right. Right. But I was openly laughing like the choking 548 00:51:26,800 --> 00:51:33,280 the bald CGI monkey, the ridiculous performances by, I don't know you love him, but Joseph 549 00:51:33,280 --> 00:51:38,720 Quinn has done dirty in this film. Yeah, he is. But he does it well. He plays up to it. 550 00:51:38,720 --> 00:51:44,200 You know what I mean? Oh, it's just the worst sort of paper cut out 2D. I'm a bad guy. Man, 551 00:51:44,200 --> 00:51:50,320 look here, see? Yeah. That's why I loved him. Oh, it's incredible. Camp, but in the wrong 552 00:51:50,320 --> 00:52:01,440 way. And so like this is fundamentally affected one of my favorite films negatively. Yeah. 553 00:52:01,440 --> 00:52:09,480 But I also recognize that for some people subjectively for me, it's awful, but objectively 554 00:52:09,480 --> 00:52:15,600 it's not that bad. It's just a cheap popcorn sequel. So we're going to go three. Okay. 555 00:52:15,600 --> 00:52:18,780 That's more than I thought it was going to be. I'm trying to be balanced. I'm trying 556 00:52:18,780 --> 00:52:22,800 to be like, you know, it's fine. I'm going complete middle of the road. I thought it 557 00:52:22,800 --> 00:52:27,520 was going to be awful. I had some fun with it. Five. It's aggressively middle of the 558 00:52:27,520 --> 00:52:32,920 road. It's paper thin and then gets a bit interesting. There's some fun stuff in there. 559 00:52:32,920 --> 00:52:39,400 Yeah. Five. Nothing more, nothing less. I will say, I will echo your thoughts. If you 560 00:52:39,400 --> 00:52:46,200 enjoyed this film, you are right. Thousand percent. I am jealous of you and I don't have 561 00:52:46,200 --> 00:52:51,440 a single bad word to say about your love for this film. Anyone loving a thing is always 562 00:52:51,440 --> 00:52:56,880 a good thing. Oh, definitely. It's just not for me. It's just not for me. I just, I really, 563 00:52:56,880 --> 00:53:02,840 really didn't like it. Same. Unfortunately, buddy, that is all the time we have for this 564 00:53:02,840 --> 00:53:08,560 week. It is. I know I'm going to go, I'm going to go celebrate my birthday. Yeah. Cause you're 565 00:53:08,560 --> 00:53:13,080 36 finally. You're finally a real boy. You're finally grown up. I'm getting there, man. 566 00:53:13,080 --> 00:53:17,720 You know what I mean? Getting there with your bit of your lung missing. My one lung and 567 00:53:17,720 --> 00:53:22,560 my one weird knee and the involuntary noises I make when I stand up. I've done this entire 568 00:53:22,560 --> 00:53:26,240 episode sitting in a dressing gown, mate. You know what I mean? I'm 36 on a Friday night 569 00:53:26,240 --> 00:53:31,740 and I'm in my dressing gown at 7 PM. I can't believe that earlier you were like, Oh, my 570 00:53:31,740 --> 00:53:37,200 lung collapsed and it really changed how I viewed life. Because I was like, if this guy, 571 00:53:37,200 --> 00:53:42,680 if this is Ben's first concept of mortality, I'm going to flip the table and guess what 572 00:53:42,680 --> 00:53:49,960 you led with? I wasn't aware that I was a human being that was capable of death. No, 573 00:53:49,960 --> 00:53:55,640 no. I legitimately up until up until yesterday, hashtag blessed, hashtag built different. 574 00:53:55,640 --> 00:54:00,360 I mean, I could crack an egg with my bicep and sniff a creatine. You know what I mean? 575 00:54:00,360 --> 00:54:06,360 Right. Right. Yeah. Except if you have a slightly, slightly too strong fizzy green drink at the 576 00:54:06,360 --> 00:54:10,920 gym, then you have an existential crisis. That means again, you can't do your bit of 577 00:54:10,920 --> 00:54:15,240 the work because you know, I did it. I just, I did it very quick, but also the apps in 578 00:54:15,240 --> 00:54:19,840 my skin helped me type. That's all it was. All right. Okay. Sure. Sure. Sure. Sure. Well, 579 00:54:19,840 --> 00:54:23,240 yeah. Thanks, man. 580 00:54:31,240 --> 00:54:38,400 Keep saying this and I'm starting to take offense to it. Genuinely, genuinely nearly died and 581 00:54:38,400 --> 00:54:42,520 I've put in so much work for this shit. And you're like, yeah, fuck all though. 582 00:54:45,520 --> 00:54:51,480 Happy birthday. Thanks, man. Yeah. I'm seeing you soon. I'm seeing you soon. I'm coming up. 583 00:54:51,480 --> 00:54:57,160 We're going to do a quiz. We need to do a promo for this. Um, every movie ever are doing a live 584 00:54:57,160 --> 00:55:03,000 movie quiz. We're going to be in person. It's going to be a film quiz at the boardroom gaming 585 00:55:03,000 --> 00:55:08,120 cafe in Telford on the 7th of December. It's technically our first ever live show. It's going 586 00:55:08,120 --> 00:55:13,880 to be amazing. Yeah. It's going to be on our discord that wants to come. Come along. Come 587 00:55:13,880 --> 00:55:19,800 along. We'll fuck it. I'll it's like two quid a person. It's amazing. There's cheesecake. 588 00:55:19,800 --> 00:55:24,680 I can't wait, mate. I can't wait. I'm desperately looking forward to it, but we are definitely 589 00:55:24,680 --> 00:55:32,920 out of time now. We are. Let's, let's do the thing where you, you, you yell and I'll do my 590 00:55:32,920 --> 00:55:39,480 sums ups. Oh, we've got, yeah. Okay. So, uh, I, I normally kick off you. You normally go, 591 00:55:39,480 --> 00:55:44,280 it's been a pleasure and a privilege to hang out. Oh yeah. Each and every one of you. And then I 592 00:55:44,280 --> 00:55:48,280 go, but that all still stands though, you know, you've not said it yet. We do love each and every 593 00:55:48,280 --> 00:55:52,680 one of you and we do thank you for hanging out with us endlessly. Your, your attention, 594 00:55:52,680 --> 00:55:57,880 your gratification, your validation of our existences is the one thing that's keeping my 595 00:55:57,880 --> 00:56:02,440 half lung a bit inflated. You know what I mean? It really is. Cause I'm just rinsing in for it. 596 00:56:02,440 --> 00:56:07,800 The little snowflake toy. I, in the meantime, uh, while Ben gives you all the love and adoration, 597 00:56:07,800 --> 00:56:13,560 I'm going to thank you. No, no, that's not right. Ben is now going to thank you for spending an 598 00:56:13,560 --> 00:56:16,840 hour of your week with us, especially at the start of the week. We know a lot of you listen on a 599 00:56:16,840 --> 00:56:25,720 Monday, um, by wrapping up the thoughts, deep subtext and subtle emotions of gladiator two 600 00:56:26,440 --> 00:56:30,840 into a little Monday motivation pep talk. While I just tell you to do what society always tells you 601 00:56:30,840 --> 00:56:40,120 to do and just tell you to consume. Listen, if you are lucky enough to have two fully functioning 602 00:56:40,120 --> 00:56:47,400 lungs, I need you to find the nearest staircase, sprint up them like mescal with a pocket full of 603 00:56:47,400 --> 00:56:52,360 crayons and a mama that's just dropped a fresh colouring pad on the kitchen table. You run up 604 00:56:52,360 --> 00:56:58,840 them like a, like a Lego figurine hot on the trails of a tasty chicken dinner. You know what 605 00:56:58,840 --> 00:57:03,240 I mean? That's, that's what we need to do. I think the lesson that we can all take from gladiator two 606 00:57:03,240 --> 00:57:09,160 is that lungs are more important than we thought previously. I think that's one thing that I took 607 00:57:09,160 --> 00:57:31,320 away from.