Gladiator II is available to buy digitally now – but there's a better way to get it

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Are you not entertained? You will be...

A still from Paramount Pictures' Gladiator 2 with Paul Mescal kneeling in an arena with sand running through his fingers.
(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Ridley Scott's latest action epic and the long-awaited sequel to one of the best films of the 2000s was finally released in cinemas late last year, and it has since found its way to Apple, Amazon, YouTube (formerly Google Play) and Sky storefronts. It was a divisive blockbuster, with many heated discussions centred around loving it or hating it taking place at What Hi-Fi? towers; however, we could all agree it will make a superb reference disc for testing picture and sound performance in our upcoming 2025 TV and home cinema reviews.

Slight story woes aside, the film has plenty of tense moments and brutal battles throughout its runtime; how could you not be entertained? The BAFTA and Critics Choice Awards-nominated film also features a star-studded cast, with the likes of Paul Mescal (Normal People, Aftersun), Denzel Washington (Training Day, The Book of Eli), and Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, The Last of Us) all putting in engaging performances. The score is also a highlight, with frequent Ridley Scott collaborator Harry Gregson-Williams building upon the legendary score of the original (composed by Hans Zimmer) with a fresh twist.

From its epic battle sequences with arrows flying overhead that are begging to be heard on a top-quality Dolby Atmos soundbar or surround sound speaker package, to the enthralling battle sequences that are certain to impress on an OLED TV, this film deserves the best medium; so we are patiently awaiting the 4K Blu-ray release – and we think you should too.

While it might be tempting to spend the £13.99 on any of the aforementioned digital marketplaces listed above, if you want to watch this film with the best picture and sound quality, we urge you to wait until the official 4K Blu-ray release on March 3rd. We admit that the convenience of not having to wait for the release date to roll around, or for your disc to be delivered, is nice – but considering we have waited more than 24 years for this sequel, another month and a half, surely, isn't too much to ask.

While the Apple TV store (formerly iTunes Movies) is our preferred method of watching movies digitally – or, if your budget allows, a Kaleidescape system – you will still find a sharper picture and more detailed sound on the 4K disc. Furthermore, you won't be relying on an internet connection, meaning a drop in signal strength won't degrade your picture, or force you to wait for pesky buffering. Best of all, you will actually own the film, with no chance of it suddenly disappearing from your library; call us paranoid, but we have seen plenty of people be caught out by their preferred service suddenly shutting down or deleting content from their library.

For AV aficionados waiting to return to the Colosseum to experience the bloodshed, you can already pre-order the 4K Blu-ray on Amazon, HMV and Zavvi.

MORE:

Check out our picks for the best 4K Blu-ray players

And the best movies and TV shows of 2024 to test your home cinema

Read our full Apple TV 4K (2022) review

Lewis Empson
Senior Staff Writer

Lewis Empson is a Senior Staff Writer on What Hi-Fi?. He was previously Gaming and Digital editor for Cardiff University's 'Quench Magazine', Lewis graduated in 2021 and has since worked on a selection of lifestyle magazines and regional newspapers. Outside of work, he enjoys gaming, gigs and regular cinema trips.

3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Friesiansam
    no-name-123 said:
    Yes a very valid point that describes delayed gratitude.
    Sadly to some people the effort to look for and find a disc on their shelf is too much effort. That is even before you think about puting the disc in the player.

    It is the same as back in laserdisc days, oh....getting up to flip a laserdisc or wait for the player to change sides for many is too much time and effort so I'll put up with grain ridden vhs instead.

    Or if every delivery company was as reliable as Amazon's own drivers, and did not take a week to cover the final mile when there is not any bad weather, for example Evri then we might not have this situation.

    A lot of the problem is 'the good enough' brigade that infects many things.

    The part about a pyhsical copy being the only safe option for owning a movie is bang on the money. Without checkinging, I believe that George Orwell' 1984 Kindle edition was the victim of a rights dispute leading to the title disapearing from customers' collections. They paid to own that title. Ironic.

    A physical disc can also be sold on or exchanged, or if parents require reliably kept away from an unsuitable minor
    Just because you like to do things a certain way, doesn’t mean people who do things differently are wrong. If people don’t care much about image or sound quality or, don’t want hard copies, it does not mean they are wrong, they just feel differently to you.
    Reply
  • Friesiansam
    no-name-123 said:
    I simply commented on the article, being a public forum anyone can with in forum rules coment as well.
    If 'people don’t care much about image or sound quality' then I would seriously wonder why they frequent a website that promotes quality reproduction as a large part of it's existance
    Not everyone that cares about listening to music, gives a monkey’s about TV and films. That includes me.
    Reply
  • no-name-123
    please might a moderator remove my earlier comments, or possibly the whole thread?As much as I'm not against civilised debate, I fail to see the point of contributions from people who by their own admission do not care about quality. The article being commented upon is about quality.
    Why exchange debate with people when my text is balanced acurate and checkable if others demonstrate a could not care less attitude. If people do not care why are they here?

    Whill a moderator please effing remove this thread?
    Forums are not the place for bad attitude and fighting?
    I have reported the content that I believed effing unsuitable, nobody effing gave a monkeys.
    Reply