The movie could have been directed better. I have no problem with the actors, but there was absolutely no story build up. The audience had to just accept everything as it was. There was hardly any music being played, which really helps the story. SPOILER ALERT: Also, are we really supposed to believe that a lake amount of water and sharks were added to the coliseum? Everything seemed as if it were too "a matter of factly". I wanted to see more of an artistic type of acting as in Gladiator 1. Even with the star power of Denzel, it just seemed as if the actors were just saying lines, rather than truly acting.