Russell Crowe has criticised the creators of the Gladiator sequel for not understanding “what made the first one special”.

The actor, who played the lead character of Roman general Maximus in the 2000 historical epic, said the “moral core” of the story was what drew people into the original.

Sir Ridley Scott’s highly-anticipated sequel, starring Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal, received mixed reviews from film critics following its release last year.

It appears that Russell was among those who were not entertained, as he said the film was a “really unfortunate example” of “people in that engine room not actually understanding what made that first one special”.

In an interview with Australian radio station Triple J, he said: “It wasn’t the pomp. It wasn’t the circumstance. It wasn’t the action. It was the moral core.”

The first film, also directed by Sir Ridley, saw Russell’s Maximus forced into slavery and later dying of his wounds.

It won five Oscars, including best picture and best actor for Russell.

The sequel is set years later and sees Irish actor Paul play Lucius, who is revealed to be the illegitimate son of Maximus and Lucilla, played by Connie Nielsen.

Russell said there was a “daily fight on that set to keep that moral core of the character” when he was filming the original.

“The amount of times they suggested sex scenes and stuff like that for Maximus – it’s like ‘you’re taking away his power’,” he said.

He also questioned the idea that Maximus had a relationship with his wife as well as with Lucilla, describing it as “crazy.”

Russell also revealed people had come up to him in restaurants in Europe to complain after the sequel came out, to which he would say: “It wasn’t me, I didn’t do it”.

The reviews for Gladiator II were mixed, with the Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw calling the movie a “thrilling spectacle” and describing Paul as a “formidable lead”.

Whereas Variety’s Owen Gleiberman said it was a “solid piece of neoclassical popcorn” and “ultimately a mere shadow” of the original.

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