If You Loved Gladiator, Watch These 8 Next. Number 1 Is Going to Start a Fight.

You finished Gladiator and now every other movie feels small. These eight carry the same weight: empires, grudges, roaring crowds and people fighting way past tired.

Number one is the best Gladiator follow-up Ridley Scott didn't make.

1. 8
   Blades of the Guardians (2026)8.0

   Wire-fu swordplay that scratches the Maximus itch, mostly.

   Yuen Woo-ping directs and Jet Li shows up. Critics gave it 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences shrugged with a 6.7 on IMDb. Come for the blades, forgive the plot.
2. 7
   Black Hawk Down (2001)7.9

   Scott's next war movie has the brotherhood, forgets the characters.

   Same director, same loyalty-under-fire pulse, $108.6M domestic. But everyone looks identical in a helmet. Guru's Take is 7.0, below its 7.9 movie.guru score.
3. 6
   War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)8.4

   A captive leader versus a cruel commander. Sound familiar?

   Andy Serkis plays Caesar like Maximus with fur. Woody Harrelson brings the full Commodus energy. 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and it still made only $146.9M domestic.
4. 5
   Godzilla Minus One (2023)9.3

   A haunted soldier earning his life back. Godzilla is a bonus.

   Like Maximus, its hero carries a war he can't shake. 99% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A CinemaScore. The monster is great. The guilt is the real story.
5. 4
   Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)9.3

   Gladiator's same-year rival, and honestly the better sword movie.

   Both landed in 2000. Ang Lee did honor, revenge and swordplay on a reported $17M budget and pulled $128.1M domestic. A Metacritic 94 doesn't lie.
6. 3
   RRR (2022)9.4

   One hero versus an empire is good. Two is better.

   Same oppressor-crushing, crowd-roaring energy, turned way past the legal limit. 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, $166.6M worldwide, and more slow-motion shouting than the Colosseum could hold.
7. 2
   Blade Runner (1982)8.2

   Scott's best movie isn't Gladiator. It's this one.

   Rutger Hauer plays a fighter built to serve, demanding more life. Same director, same doomed grandeur. Audiences gave it a B CinemaScore in 1982. Guru's Take: 8.4.
8. 1
   Dune: Part Two (2024)9.4

   The best Gladiator follow-up wasn't made by Ridley Scott.

   An emperor, endless sand, a roaring arena and a hero adopted by the people he's supposed to rule. Its audience score beats 100% of movies here. $714.8M worldwide agrees.

$741.06 says you yell at your TV during the Dune arena scene like it owes you money.

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Current mood: ready to fight about it