As Gladiator II enters the theatrical arena against Wicked, it’s relying on a marketing tactic the 2000 film didn’t: thirst. The Russell Crowe-led original won five Oscars, including Best Picture. It’s not that the sequel isn’t good — it’s been getting decent reviews — but 25 years have passed and the way movies are promoted has changed.

Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” is full of a memorable action scenes, from a bloody showdown featuring CGI baboons to Paul Mescal outsmarting a charging rhino in the Roman Colosseum. But one sequence that is sure to leave audiences with the most questions is a rather insane set piece in which the Colosseum is filled with