This movie tries to ruin Maximus' story. It's never made clear that he's his dad it's hinted at for a reason. Calling him his father outright, knowing that his only goal in the first was to get to his wife and child with honor just sucks the air out of the first one.

It needed more General Acacius. He's a fantastic character who shows what this type of life does to a person and has five minutes of screen time.

The Twins needed more development or screen time. You've got them being sickly and weird, up the stakes, people are afraid of them people are annoyed by them people think they're idiots, yet they follow them. Let's see why and how they hold the throne together.

What is Lucius motivation? The no mercy scene and him saying he doesn't want to fight that one guy were pointless. Do you want to be with your wife or not.

Macrinus was in the right. If Lucius had more development, he'd see that. Lucius didn't want to be in or a part of Rome, and he didn't want to be prince or king. So why do you all of a sudden care that Macrinus wants the throne.

If it ended with Macrinus on the throne and Lucius leaving Rome I could see that or with him seeing that Macrinus is going to be just as unfit for the throne as the rest I'd like it more.

As a matter of fact, this movie needed a time jump. If Lucius spent years being the unkillable gladiator and seeing how Rome could be from the stories of other Gladiators or being the prized gladiator so he gets perks of being wined and dined and pampered by the royals and what it used to be. If you gone be a sequel be a sequel.

Competing clowns get into a real fight in the circus arena. After throwing their (big) shoes at each other, and not finding anything else, they start hurling sand.