Gladiator II director's shooting method is lazy claims cinematographer

Gladiator II director Ridley Scott has been branded 'lazy' by his own cinematographer for his choice of filming methods on the action sequel.

John Mathieson gave a reflective interview speaking of how the director had 'changed' and was now 'quite impatient' on set adding this had had a negative impact on the finished product.

Mathieson, 63, worked with the renowned British director Scott, 86, on both his Gladiator films and has told a podcast how using multiple cameras rather than just one and paying little attention to 'bits of the set hanging down' in the shots are among its flaws.

He said, speaking to the DocFix podcast: 'It's really lazy. It’s the CG [computer graphic] elements now of tidying-up, leaving things in shot, cameras in shot, microphones in shot, bits of set hanging down, shadows from booms. And they just said [on Gladiator II], "Well, clean it up".

'He is quite impatient so he likes to get as much as he can at once.

'It’s not very good for cinematography.

'Look at his older films and getting depth into things was very much part of lighting. You can’t do that with a lot of cameras but he just wants to get it all done.'

Mathieson added that multiple cameras meant you 'can only light from one angle'.

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Gladiator II, which stars Paul Mescal, was generally less well-received by critics than the 2000 film starring Russell Crowe.

It has received criticism for its apparent 'historical inaccuracies' such as 'diversity of accents' and portrayal of characters reading morning newspapers 1,200 years before the invention of the printing press.

Yet some critics said it was the 'best movie of the year' and a 'true epic' as they hailed Mescal and Denzel Washington for their performances.

The film sees Mescal's Lucius Verus seek vengeance against Rome in a blood-soaked battle with his captor general Marcus Acacius.

Revenge-seeking Lucius is mentored as a Gladiator by Macrinus (Denzel) - a former slave who plots to control Rome. The pair use one another to achieve their goals: Macrinus's invasion of Rome and Lucius slaying the general.

Mathieson concluded: 'Having lots of cameras I don’t think has made the films any better.

'It’s a bit rush, rush, rush. That’s changed in him. But that’s the way he wants to do it and I don’t like it and I don’t think many people do, but people love his films and he’s Ridley Scott and can do what he wants.

'People want to shoot multi cameras because they get lots of performances and they put lots of people in. But there’s not the care.

Mathieson compared the sequel to Gladiator in 2000 where there had been 'just 50 effect shots' pointing out the number in Gladiator II would be 'in the thousands'.

The British cinematographer, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Gladiator, added: 'Now it is this thing of "generally covering stuff" rather than me being the cook cooking you something wonderful in my kitchen downstairs.

'You just go to the supermarket and get one of those really big trolleys and you just put your arm on the shelf and just chuck all that stuff in and we’ll sort it out later.'

Other films worked on by Mathieson include The Phantom of the Opera (2004) and Hannibal (2001).

Scott is known for his directing of films like Alien (1979) and Blade Runner (1982).