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00:00Sixteen years after the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Rome is run by corrupt twin
00:04emperors Geta and Caracalla.
00:06Aurelius' dream of a perfect Rome has fallen because the twins' aggression is spreading
00:09through the empire and slowly bringing it down, so the fall of the great city is inevitable.
00:13In the North African kingdom of Numidia, Hanno lives a calm life with his wife Arishat.
00:18However peace is interrupted when sirens announce an invasion by the Roman army.
00:22After seeing the smoke coming from the city, Hanno and Arishat put on their armor and join
00:26the rest of the citizens to listen to their leader Jugurtha make a defense plan.
00:29Before leaving for battle, Hanno and Arishat exchange rings and promise to look out for
00:33each other.
00:34The couple joins the team at the wall and Hanno gives an inspiring speech.
00:37Soon the Roman ships led by General Akatsyus appear at the shore, so the Numidians open
00:42fire with their catapults and bows.
00:44The ships take heavy damage, however Akatsyus orders his men to keep moving while they retaliate
00:48with their own catapults and archers.
00:50Fire spreads on both sides and several men die in just a few minutes.
00:54Once the ships reach the fortress, the Roman army lowers some platforms and invades.
00:58Akatsyus continues to lead as he brings down soldier after soldier with his sword and no
01:02mercy.
01:03Hanno does the same on his side, killing Romans at impressive speed.
01:06As the Romans storm into the fortress with the strength of their shields as protection,
01:10Arishat shoots her arrows from above, offering cover for the sword fighters.
01:13When Akatsyus sees her, he orders his own archers to fire back and Arishat is shot dead.
01:18Hanno watches in horror how her body falls into the sea and a Roman hits him from behind,
01:22making him fall as well.
01:23While unconscious, Hanno watches the mythical ferryman take Arishat into the afterlife.
01:28He tries running after her as he desperately screams her name, but at that moment his body
01:32resurfaces and he wakes up.
01:33Nearby he finds the dead body of his wife, so he cries as he takes the arrow from her chest
01:38before the Romans capture him.
01:39Afterward Akatsyus claims the city for Rome while his men burn the bodies.
01:43All the citizens including Hanno get burning brands on their bodies, marking them as slaves.
01:48Next the slaves are sent to Rome in the ships.
01:49During the trip Hanno notices Jugurtha has a serious wound and helps him wrap it up.
01:54Jugurtha thinks he doesn't have much time left and remembers the day he found Hanno as a lost child
01:58in the desert.
01:59This triggers a memory in Hanno's mind, he was a kid living with a good family,
02:03but his mother sent him away when the Romans attacked his home.
02:05Eventually the ships arrive at Ostia, the port of Rome.
02:09Akatsyus is received as a hero and the twin emperors crown him with laurels.
02:12He asks for a break from war to spend time with his wife, but the twins announce that they'll
02:16be invading Persia and India next.
02:18The slaves are taken to Antium on the outskirts of Rome, where Macrinus oversees the gladiator training.
02:23Jugurtha, Hanno, and a few other slaves are released in a practice arena, where they must
02:28fight a bunch of feral baboons. Hidden soldiers shoot darts at the baboons to make them more
02:32violent and soon these beasts are jumping on the slaves to kill them with their teeth.
02:36Jugurtha refuses to fight and drops to his knees as he waits for the end.
02:39Hanno wants to save him from the creatures, but it's too late and Jugurtha dies.
02:43When the baboon comes after Hanno, he stops it by putting his chains in its mouth and biting its leg.
02:48Then he chokes the baboon to death with his chains, which impresses Macrinus to the point he decides
02:52he'll buy Hanno. Afterward Hanno and his friends are sent to the barracks with the rest of Macrinus'
02:57slaves, who mock Hanno by making baboon noises. Once the slaves are fed, they're taken to Macrinus
03:02so he can judge the new recruits. Hanno refuses to speak so Macrinus orders gladiator trainer Vigo
03:07to fight him. At first it looks like Hanno has a disadvantage, but soon he recovers and fights
03:12back with impressive skill to defeat Vigo. Then Hanno is sent to the private chambers, where Macrinus
03:16explains he chooses gladiators for their rage and Hanno has lots of it. Hanno finally talks to
03:21say his goal is to kill Akatsyus, and Macrinus explains he can achieve that if he wins enough
03:25fights in Rome. Meanwhile Akatsyus reunites with his wife Lucilla, the daughter of the previous
03:30emperor. He admits he's tired of the twins' tyranny, so he and Lucilla begin making plans to rebel
03:35against the emperors and make Rome great again. Sometime later Macrinus brings Hanno to a party in the
03:40city throne by Senator Throix. Hanno and one of Throix's slaves are forced to fight with swords
03:44to death in front of the emperors. At first Hanno refuses to kill and attacks the other man using
03:49furniture and any object he can find around, but the guy refuses to surrender so Hanno has no choice
03:54but to stab him with the sword. Geta is very impressed and asks Hanno where he's from, but Hanno
03:58answers with a quote about hell from Vergil's The Aeneid. Thankfully the emperors find the poetry amusing
04:03and look forward to seeing Hanno in the arena. After the party, Macrinus scolds Hanno for getting cheeky in
04:08front of the emperors and asks where he learned such words. Hanno says his city had a Roman prisoner
04:12and he picked up a few stories from him, but Macrinus doesn't believe him. To Hanno's shock,
04:17he's paid two coins for the fight and learns the gladiators can save up to buy their freedom.
04:21That night in a hidden chamber, Lucilla and Akatsius meet with a few senators to share their
04:25plans to save Rome. Akatsius explains the Roman army is loyal to him and the senators agree to support him.
04:31A few days later Hanno and other slaves are brought to Rome for the gladiator games in the Colosseum.
04:35They are impressed by the architecture and the statues, but they also notice all the poor people
04:39on the streets. Macrinus meets with Throax and they agree to double their bets. At the Colosseum,
04:44the emperors receive Akatsius and Lucilla on the main seats and the crowd chants the general's name.
04:49After a few words from Akatsius, the slaves enter the arena and gladiator champion Glicio comes in
04:54riding a rhino. Hanno acts as the group leader and makes a strategy to dodge the rhino's attacks.
04:59At first it goes well but soon a slave is knocked down. The wound makes him run more slowly,
05:03so Glicio easily captures him with some bolas and the rhino kills him with its horn.
05:08Then Hanno runs some dirt through his hands, which reminds Lucilla of her former lover Maximus,
05:12the protagonist of the first movie. He throws some dirt at the rhino too to create a distraction and
05:17jumps out of the way, causing the beast to crash against the wall. Glicio falls off the rhino and
05:21gets injured, but he can still move and goes after Hanno. As the men fight and beat each other up,
05:26Geta remembers the quote Hanno shared at the party and Lucilla takes it as another clue. Hanno and Glicio
05:31continue to fight fiercely using any weapon they can pick up around the arena. When Glicio manages
05:36to knock Hanno down, Caracalla chooses blood, but Lucilla asks for mercy. Geta gives a thumbs up to
05:41spare Hanno, who says he doesn't want to be pitied by the Romans and starts fighting again. In just a
05:46few moves, he manages to stab Glicio and the crowd chants the word kill. This time Geta turns his thumb
05:51down and Hanno decapitates Glicio with two swords. Now the crowd and even the other slaves chant Hanno's name.
05:56In the gladiators' quarters, Dr. Ravi takes care of Hanno's wounds. After the fight,
06:02Lucilla goes to her private quarters and puts together the clues she's seen today. The quote
06:06and the running dirt confirm Hanno is Lucius, the son she had with Maximus. When Lucius was a kid,
06:11he was the only legit heir to the throne, so Lucilla sent him away to save him from the people
06:15who
06:15wanted to kill him for power. Lucilla cries as she realizes her beloved son is back and invites
06:20Macrinus to share a meal. She tries to act casual as she asks about his slaves, but Macrinus can tell
06:25she's hiding something. Later Macrinus asks around and learns that Lucilla used to have a son who
06:30disappeared. Rumors said Lucilla's late husband wasn't the boy's father because he preferred
06:34the company of men. This information helps Macrinus start putting two and two together.
06:38In the evening, Lucilla escapes through a hidden tunnel and meets with a senator friend,
06:42who sneaks her into the gladiators' cells. Hanno reveals he does remember her and his real name,
06:47but he says Lucius is dead and he's only Hanno now. Lucilla tries to explain herself,
06:51however Hanno angrily yells at her and kicks her out. When Lucilla returns home,
06:56she tells Akatsuyus that her son is alive and begs for his help, which is overheard by a maid.
07:00The next morning Hanno is training with the other slaves, but Vigo is still bitter and sends the
07:04group away to make Hanno handle the rowing mechanism alone. At the end of the day Hanno's
07:08hands are raw so Ravi takes care of them while sharing his story. Ravi is a free man and could
07:13have
07:13already returned to his homeland, but he met a woman so they started a new life here in Rome.
07:17The next gladiator fight will be on ships. The arena is filled with water and a few sharks are
07:22swimming in it. The opponents open fire with flaming arrows and whenever a man is hit,
07:26his body falls into the water and becomes shark food. Hanno tells his team to keep rowing and when
07:31they're close enough to the other ship, they destroy their oars. Arrows keep flying and kill a few more
07:35men, but this never stops Hanno's men from rowing. Since their enemy can't move without oars, Hanno's ship
07:41moves forward and rams right into the other ship, breaking it down in the middle. Then Hanno and his men
07:45jump on the enemy's boat to start killing them one by one. More bodies fall into the water as the
07:50broken ship is pushed against the wall, putting Hanno near the main seats. He grabs a crossbow and
07:55shoots at Akatsuius, but a fighter pushes him at the last second and he misses. The arrow lands between
07:59the twins, who think this was a personal attack. After the fight, the slaves chant Hanno's name again.
08:05Vigo comes to scold Hanno for his crossbow trick, but Hanno says Vigo should be glad the arrow wasn't for
08:10him.
08:10Meanwhile Lucilla's maid shares all the secrets with Throix. Later Macrinus comes to Throix's home
08:16to pick up all the money from their bets, pointing out this is his house now. Instead of money Throix
08:20pays him with secrets, there are rebels planning to dethrone the twins, however that plan has been
08:25delayed until certain gladiator is rescued from the arena. That night, the palace soldiers pick
08:29Lucilla up at her home. In the gladiator's quarters, Akatsuius and his men are sneaking in
08:34to rescue Hanno. However the emperor's soldiers are already waiting to quickly shoot the men with
08:38arrows before capturing Akatsuius. The couple is taken to see the twins and Geta scolds them for
08:43their betrayal, only for Akatsuius to laugh at him. This enrages Caracalla, who grabs a sword and tries
08:48to kill Akatsuius. Geta immediately stops him, saying the punishment must be public. After the
08:54couple is taken to a cell, Macrinus points out that crucifixion is for thieves and Akatsuius is a hero.
08:59So if the emperors want to stay on the citizens' good side, sending Akatsuius to the arena would be a
09:03better idea. The next day Robby shows Hanno the shrine to the gladiator champions and Hanno notices
09:08that Maximus' name has been scratched off. But in Maximus' grave, his armor and swords are still
09:13kept in good condition. On the wall Hanno reads What we do in this life echoes in eternity.
09:18For the next gladiator fight, extra soldiers are protecting the main seats and Lucilla is kept in
09:22shackles. Akatsuius is the first gladiator and he must fight against soldiers of the Praetorian Guard.
09:27Having so many opponents isn't easy and Akatsuius is wounded a couple of times, but he's still a
09:32magnificent warrior and manages to kill every soldier with his sword. Next Hanno is sent out
09:36and starts fighting Akatsuius, so the crowd doesn't know who to cheer for. Both men are excellent
09:41fighters and the battle goes on for a while without signs of ending soon. Eventually Akatsuius gets
09:45tired, so he tells Hanno he knows his real identity and drops his swords before raising his hand as a
09:50sign of surrender. Geta immediately puts his thumb down but before Hanno can raise his sword, Akatsuius
09:55explains he truly loves Lucilla and he would have died for Maximus. This makes Hanno drop his sword too and
10:00the emperors get angry, so they order the archers to proceed with the execution. The arrows immediately
10:05kill Akatsuius and Hanno asks the crowd if this is how Rome treats its heroes, because then the
10:09citizens should expect to be treated worse. Then the crowd begins booing the emperors and the guards
10:14keep the people back while their leaders leave the Colosseum. In the evening Macrinus visits Hanno to ask
10:18him why he let Akatsuius live. Hanno explains building a better Rome is possible, but Macrinus thinks
10:24that's an impossible dream and reminds Hanno he's just a tool. On the streets, the citizens are rioting and
10:29starting fires all over the place as they ask for the twins' heads. The soldiers try to stop them,
10:33but the crowd fights them and overwhelms them with their numbers. In the royal chambers, Geta and
10:38Caracalla begin arguing over what to do and Caracalla blames everything on Geta, who responds by throwing
10:42water at his brother's face. Caracalla storms out of the room and Macrinus follows him to manipulate him.
10:48He says that Geta will blame Caracalla for everything in public so Caracalla should confront him.
10:52Hired of having to share everything, Caracalla grabs a blade and cuts his brother's hand.
10:56Geta stops him from going further and reminds Caracalla that he loves him, causing him to
11:00hesitate. Suddenly Macrinus appears behind Caracalla and guides his hand to slash Geta's neck a few
11:05times before stabbing him. In the morning Lucilla visits Hanno and gives him Maximus' ring. In return
11:10Hanno shares his condolences before they reconcile with a hug. Meanwhile Caracalla takes over the throne
11:15and announces his monkey will be his first consul while Macrinus will be his second. Macrinus presents
11:20Geta's head to the senators and explains he needs more power to protect their government,
11:23so they vote to make him leader of the Praetorian Guard. Afterward Macrinus visits Lucilla to tell
11:28her that he used to be a slave for her father, and now he plans to end the imperial bloodline
11:32by
11:32becoming emperor himself. At the same time Hanno gives the ring to Ravi, asking him to take it to
11:37Akatsuyus' army in Ostia. Before leaving, Ravi gives Hanno the cell keys. The next day Ravi has to
11:43avoid a few guards to reach the general, who immediately agrees to help when hears the ring was sent by
11:47Lucius, the Prince of Rome. At the Colosseum, Vigo announces this will be Hanno's last fight and shows him the
11:53wooden sword of freedom, which he can win if he defends his mother. Suddenly Hanno opens the cell
11:57door and knocks Vigo down before slowly killing him with the wooden sword. The other slaves also
12:02come out of their cells and quickly kill all the guards who try to stop them. While the slaves open
12:06the way, Hanno goes to his father's grave to take his sword and armor. He still has the arrow that
12:11killed a Raishit and tells it to wait for him. Afterward Hanno gives an inspiring speech to the slaves,
12:16who all agree to fight for their freedom. Then he enters the arena and finds Lucilla tied to a post
12:20surrounded by rebel senators while the crowd chants his name. Royal soldiers enter the arena too and
12:25the crowd boos them, but before they can attack, the slaves rush in to help Hanno fight with fair
12:29numbers. As a fierce battle ensues, Caracalla gets excited, but Macrinus is frustrated and tells a
12:35commander to call the cavalry. However this can't be done because the cavalry is protecting the city
12:39since Akatsui's old army is coming from Ostia to invade. They still manage to spare a few soldiers,
12:44who soon enter the arena and start killing both slaves and senators without mercy. The crowd freaks out and a
12:49guard shoots an arrow, killing a spectator. This is the last straw and now the crowd begins to riot,
12:55pushing the soldiers off the walls but also losing more civilians in the process. While everyone is
12:59distracted, Macrinus uses the chance to kill Caracalla by inserting a bodkin into his ear. In the arena,
13:05enough soldiers have been killed to create an opening and Hanno tries to rescue his mother.
13:09At that moment Macrinus shoots an arrow that pierces Lucilla's heart, so she gives Hanno her last words
13:13of encouragement before dying. Afterward Macrinus leaves on a horse to join the army at the gates,
13:18so Hanno steals a horse to follow him. Minutes later, the Praetorian guard meets Akatsui's army
13:23led by Ravi outside the city. Hanno appears in front of Macrinus and introduces himself as Lucius,
13:28the real heir to the throne. He tackles Macrinus to throw him off his horse and the men begin fighting
13:33with his swords. Macrinus turns out to be a fearsome opponent who manages to break Hanno's sword and
13:37keeps him short-sighted by throwing dirt at his face. Then Macrinus pushes Hanno into the river and starts
13:42stabbing, but the sword keeps bouncing on the armor. Hanno sees himself in the afterlife again
13:47and remembers his mother's last words before resurfacing with regained strength. He punches
13:51Macrinus before retrieving his sword to cut off his arm, followed by a slash to his stomach that
13:55finally kills him. After the body floats away, Hanno reminds the armies of his grandfather's dream of
14:01the perfect Rome. All the soldiers chant to show their support and agree not to fight anymore. That night,
14:06Lucius goes to the arena and takes some of Lucilla's blood before picking up some dirt in his father's name.
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14:15Thanks for watching.
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