The Reign of Caesar (film)

The Reign of Caesar is a historical action film based on the later life of the Roman dictator, Gaius Julius Caesar. It is the third film in the Ancient Rome Cinematic Universe (ARCU), and the sequel to The Conquest of Caesar. It serves as the third and final film of the Julius Caesar Trilogy. The film takes place between 47 and 42 BC. It is centered around Caesar's fall and the revenge performed on the killers by his proteges.

The film stars Tye Sheridan, Orlando Bloom, Jennifer Lopez, Alessandro Borghi, Greg Vaughan, Linda Cardellini, and Freddie Highmore. Like the rest of the ARCU, the film is mostly historically accurate, with some minor adjustments in order to make it cinematic.

Plot
Pompey the Great (Logan Lerman) arrives in Egypt, but is immediately assassinated by Achillas (Faran Tahir), who serves the current ruler of Egypt, Ptolemy XIII (Rami Malek). Achillas hopes to win over the will of Julius Caesar, as Egypt is on the brink of a civil war. Caesar, however, is appalled by death, as he was hoping to work together with Pompey in the future.

Caesar is seduced by the beautiful Cleopatra and tries to woo him over to her side of the civil war, against her brother Ptolemy XIII. Caesar caves, and decides to help her defeat Ptolemy XII, Achillas, Arsinoe (Sonoya Mizuno), and his forces.

Meanwhile in Rome, Mark Antony is unable to quell rumors that Caesar is taking advantage of his powers, wants to be called a god, and is wasting time in Egypt. Calpurnia (Linda Cardellini) is worried and upset about rumors that Caesar is having fun with Cleopatra, goes to the young Marcus Brutus (Alessandro Borghi) and tells him that he is the son of Julius Caesar and his former wife, Pompeia (Ilfenesh Hadera). Marcus Brutus is astounded by this, and tells his cousin Decimus Brutus (Ben Barnes), who was a close ally and high-ranking lieutenant under Caesar. Decimus is surprised, but weary of Caesar. He thinks that Caesar's mood has shifted away from the goal of the civil war, now that he is in Egypt.

Marcus Cicero (Greg Vaughan) is worried about the state of the republic and goes to see the Sibyl of Cumae (Karin Konoval). She is a CGI creation of an extremely old women (over 700 years old). She says that when she was young, Apollo made love to her. In return, she asked that she live for as many years as the number of grains of sand in her hand, neglecting to include wishing for continued youthful appearance. The Sibyl, who is so old and wise that she can now semi-accurately predict the future, tells Cicero to trust the great-nephew of Caesar, and that chaos is coming.

Caesar returned to Rome after defeating Ptolemy XIII, with the help of Rufio (Tobias Menzies). Calpurnia is distraught that he brought Cleopatra to Rome. Caesar then only visits Cleopatra in secret, however is furious when he finds out that Calpurnia told Marcus Brutus that his is his son.

Marcus Cicero consults Caesar on what to do as dictator, stating that he sees unrest among the people who think that he is a tyrant. Caesar tells Cicero in secret that his heir will be his great-nephew, Octavius (Freddie Highmore). Cicero tells him that it is a good choice, as he sees Mark Antony too hot-headed to be a future leader of Rome. Caesar also talks to his grandmother, Rutilia (Sophia Loren), whom he finds out is still alive.

Decimus Brutus succeeds to persuading Marcus Brutus that Caesar must not be dictator any longer. Mark Antony adds more fuel to the fire by offering Caesar a crown, signifying that he is a king. Caesar receives a vision from his father figure, Gaius Marius (Ciarran Hinds), to not accept it. Regardless, this is the final straw for the conspirators, which are led by Decimus Brutus, Marcus Brutus, Servius Galba (Lee Boardman), Gaius Cassius (John Malkovich), and Lucius Plancus (Atandwa Kani). They meet and decide to assassinate Caesar in the senate on the Ides of March.

Despite warnings from Calpurnia and a soothswayer, Caesar decides to go to the senate on the Ides of March. He is attacked by the conspirators, but manages to fight them off. Marcus Brutus then rises and stabs Caesar mightily. Caesar is stunned and says, "You too, son?" before collapsing.

Mark Antony brings out the body of Caesar to the crowd and warns against the conspirators. Marcus Cicero reads the will of Caesar, and everyone is shocked when it is revealed that Gaius Octavius is to be adopted as Caesar's son, posthumously, and to succeed him. Mark Antony is disappointed, so to is Cleopatra. The two have a talk, saying that they should fight for what's their's. Mark Antony decides that the bigger fish to kill is the conspirators, who are still on the run, and plotting a takeover of Rome. Cleopatra understands this, and kisses Mark Antony goodbye.

The young and inexperienced Octavius joins forces with Mark Antony, who mocks the former on his skills and lack of soldier traits. During battle, Octavius falls ill. Mark Antony's forces are carrying the attack on the conspirators, killing Decimus Brutus and Galba. During a tough battle against Cassius, Plancus switches sides and joins Antony. Octavius then returns to battle and helps Mark Antony defeat Brutus, who is killed.

Octavius and Mark Antony temporarily truce in a new triumvirate with the elder statesman, Marcus Lepidus (Sean Bean). They focus on building a better Rome in Caesar's honor.

Cast

 * Tye Sheridan as Julius Caesar
 * Orlando Bloom as Mark Antony
 * Jennifer Lopez as Cleopatra
 * Alessandro Borghi as Marcus Brutus
 * Greg Vaughan as Marcus Cicero
 * Linda Cardellini as Calpurnia
 * Freddie Highmore as Gaius Octavius
 * Ben Barnes as Decimus Brutus
 * Rami Malek as Ptolemy XIII
 * Karin Konoval as The Sibyl of Cumae
 * John Malkovich as Gaius Cassius
 * Atandwa Kani as Lucius Plancus
 * Sonoya Mizuno as Arsinoe
 * Lee Boardman as Servius Galba
 * Faran Tahir as Achillas
 * Tobias Menzies as Rufio
 * Sean Bean as Marcus Lepidus
 * Logan Lerman as Pompey the Great
 * Ciaran Hinds as Gaius Marius
 * Sophia Loren as Rutilia
 * Ilfenesh Hadera as Pompeia

Spinoff
A spinoff movie titled Antony and Cleopatra, was released. It focused on the love affair between Mark Antony and Cleopatra, which was hinted at in this movie.