Director Ridley Scott's mega-sequel catches Rome at yet another moment of upheaval: sixteen years after the legendary fight between Emperor Commodus and General Maximus at the Colosseum, which left both dead, Rome is now ruled by the eccentric, freewheeling emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), one of whom keeps a tittering, dressed-up dwarf monkey named Dondus as a pet. The Colosseum's barracks are packed with gladiators, and the bloody games are in full swing. Aurelius's Dream of Rome - as a republic ruled by laws - has been all but forgotten.