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In lesser hands, “Gladiator II” would collapse under the weight of its own ambition. In capable ones, it’s frequently delightful.

Such delights as are found in Ridley Scott’s latter-day sequel are typically the result of clichés landing with their intended effect. “Gladiator II” is full of hackneyed plot points; we’ve got a dead wife motivating the main character, a prodigal son that’s more “Star Wars” than Homer and enough aphorism-riddled speechifying to fill the Roman senate. But because Scott knows precisely how to make these standard-issue ingredients sing in the pot, most of it works — and when it falters, Denzel Washington shows up to offer a master class.

Washington plays Macrinus, an aspirational wheeler and dealer who comes to own a stable of gladiators. When he finds a diamond in the rough — Hanno (Paul Mescal), a recently captured prisoner whose wife was killed when Rome conquered the couple’s city — he sees a path to power.

Meanwhile, the conquering hero Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) has inflated the empire for the decadent co-emperors Geta (Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (Fred Hechinger), but he’s not happy. He’s sick of war and empire; he’s planning a coup in the name of peace. Unfortunately, he was the one who led the Roman army to Hanno’s front door, so there’s danger in this suddenly popular gladiator.

And, of course, Hanno’s hidden origins are not so humble. Suffice it to say that this film is not entirely disconnected from the Oscar-winning original.

There are plenty of people — and locations, and CGI beasts, and handsomely rendered piles of arms and armor — in “Gladiator 2,” but the only names that really matter are Scott and Washington. The former overcomes a slightly ho-hum script (from David Scarpa, who also wrote Scott’s “Napoleon” and “All the Money in the World”) to make a proper epic of a film; he pastes over clunky dialogue with bombast and delivers such visceral thrills in the arena that you’ll beg for the games to resume.

As for Washington: It’s not news to point out that he’s quite possibly the greatest actor alive, but he takes every moment of “Gladiator II” to remind you. Simple phrases become symphonies in his measured and mad performance. This sequel may not quite match the reputation of its predecessor, but if there’s justice, Washington will be awarded on Oscar night.

My Rating: 7/10

“Gladiator II” opens in theaters Nov. 22.