‘Gladiator II��� director and legendary one-man blockbuster factory Ridley Scott is our guest this week. He joins Simon to discuss the long-awaited sequel to 2000’s modern classic, in which this time Paul Mescal plays Lucius, the long-exiled son of Russell Crowe’s Maximus. He finds himself back in Rome as a prisoner from his now-conquered adopted homeland, and must outfight and outwit his opponents and captors whilst guarding the secret of his ancestry. Simon talks to Ridley about swords, sandals, CGI and how he knew Paul Mescal would make a great Roman. We find out what Mark makes of the high-octane epic– do its mega action sequences jump the (Coliseum-swimming) shark? Plus we’ve got two more reviews of ‘The Last Dance’, a punchy drama set amidst the Hong Kong funeral business from director Anselm Chan—and ‘Christmas Eve in Miller’s Point’, a kooky indie holiday comedy with an ensemble cast including Matilda Fleming, Michael Cera and Francesca Scorsese. Spoiler alert – if a catastrophic weather event happened at Miller’s Point, Mark wouldn’t mourn its disappearance. More top takes from the Good Doctors. To our LTLs and newbies alike: strength and honour! Catch Mark and Simon live at our Christmas Spectacular – final tickets available here: https://www.fane.co.uk/kermode-and-mayo Timecodes (for Vanguardistas listening ad-free): The Last Dance Review: 09:48 Sir Ridley Scott Interview: 28:23 Gladiator II Review: 44:19 Christmas Eve In Miller’s Point Review: 58:00 You can contact the show by emailing [email protected] or you can find us on social media, @KermodeandMayo EXCLUSIVE NordVPN Deal ➼ https://nordvpn.com/take Try it risk-free now with a 30-day money-back guarantee! A Sony Music Entertainment production. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts and follow us @sonypodcasts To advertise on this show contact: [email protected] And to find out more about Sony’s new show Origins with Cush Jumbo, click here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices