FOR the avoidance of doubt, Gladiator II is not a documentary. Alas, it’s true, Ridley Scott did not devote the 24 years that separates the film from its Oscar-winning originator to meticulous research. Sharks never swam in the Colosseum. Romans never read newspapers. Gladiators never fought rhinos. Sorry to disappoint.

If you can get past such historical vandalism - the supposed furore has felt, at best, spurious - you’ll likely find something to enjoy in Scott’s return to Ancient Rome. Above all, fans of grand spectacle, acting excellence and anachronistic sharks should come away happy.

Marching the might of Scott’s original Gladiator was always going to be a tall order. That film saw Russell Crowe portray Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman general forced into slavery by the machinations of Joaquin Phoenix’s wicked Commodus. Maximus’ impassioned rise and fall, driven by the wish to avenge his family and Richard Harris’ murdered Emperor Marcus Aurelius, captivated audiences the world over. We were all entertained.

The sequel picks up the story two decades later and with an interest in the cyclical repetitions of history.

Paul Mescal leads as Lucius Verus, son of Maximus and long estranged from his mother, Lucilla, a returning Connie Nielsen. In the original, Lucius was portrayed by a young Spencer Treat Clark but it’s not so hard to see why Mescal was cast. It’s an impressive performance.

When a Roman legion, led by General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), invades his home province of Numidia, Lucius is, like his father, forced into slavery, his wife and child killed by the soldiers. Inspired by his father’s legacy, and guided by the embittered former slave Macrinus (Denzel Washington), Lucius plots his revenge via the ring. He, too, must become a gladiator.

If you found the original Gladiator a touch overblown, avert your eyes. Scott’s ambition here is extraordinary and plays out with a full blooded and bombastic intensity.

Alongside Nielsen, Derek Jacobi reprises his role as Senator Gracchus, a lonely voice of opposition to the corruption infecting an Imperial Court co-ruled by brother emperors Geta and Caracalla, played by Joseph Quinn and an unhinged Fred Hechinger respectively.

A third film is planned but don’t expect it any time soon. Gladiatorial epics about Ancient Rome aren’t made in a day, after all. Not when they cost $300m a pot at any rate.