The Conquest of Caesar

The Conquest of Caesar is a historical action film based on the conquests of Julius Caesar before he became the dictator of Rome. It is the sequel to The Rise of Caesar and is set in the Ancient World Cinematic Universe (AWCU). It takes place between 53 and 48 BC.

The film stars Timothée Chalamet, Logan Lerman, Lorenzo Richelmy, Grace Van Patten, Ben Barnes, Greg Vaughan, Oscar Isaac, and Ian Somerhalder. Like the rest of the ARCU, the film is mostly historically accurate, with some minor adjustments in order to make it cinematic.

Plot
The film begins as a meeting between the First Triumvirate - Julius Caesar (Timothée Chalamet), Pompey (Logan Lerman) , and Marcus Crassus (Tommy Flanagan). Pompey and Caesar are at odds on a number of things, but the alliance is kept on track by Crassus, and the marriage between Caesar's daughter, Julia, and Pompey. Caesar goes off to fight the Gauls in order to contain the migration of the Helvetii tribes, while Crassus goes off to launch an expedition against the Parthian Empire. If both return victorious, Rome will be stronger than ever. Pompey stays in Rome to govern.

The Optimates, led by Cato the Younger (Ian Somerhalder), are completely opposed to the triumvirate, especially Caesar and his populist agenda. They attempt to swoon and corrupt Pompey to their side by offering him sole consulship (almost dictatorship) of Rome. Pompey, who is technically a populist, has been at odds with Caesar, but refuses to defect to the Optimates due to his marriage to Julia and alliance with Crassus.

Caesar begins his Gallic campaign, joined by his second-in-command, Titus Labienus (Lorenzo Richelmy). He defeats the Helvetii in the Battle of Bibracte alongside his generals Mark Antony (Oscar Isaac), Quintus Cicero (Daniele Liotti) , Servius Galba (Romain Duris) , and Decimus Brutus (Ben Barnes). He also defeated the Suebi, who were led by the Germanic king Ariovistus and the Belgae, pacifying Gaul. Calpurnia (Grace Van Patten) is the wife of Caesar after the death of Pompeia and begins to become deeply worried for her husband.

Julia passes away in childbirth, which hurts the relationship between Caesar and Pompey. Caesar, meanwhile is successful in his campaign with Gaul, and even crosses the Channel into Britain to punish the Briton tribes that committed raids into Gaul. He then faced a revolt from the Arverni tribe led by Vercingetorix (Can Yaman) who defeats Caesar at Gergovia when he was trying to siege the city. Labienus becomes frustrated with Caesar's command.

Crassus, meanwhile, is defeated by the Parthians who are led by the general Surena in the Battle of Carrhae, near the Euphrates, thanks to the cataphract cavalry and their archers on horseback. Crassus dies and the Parthians pour molten gold into his mouth as a symbol of his thirst for wealth. The remaining Romans at Carrhae attempted to flee, but most were captured or killed with many being resettled to the Parthian eastern border.

The death of Crassus is the final nail in the coffin for the alliance. Pompey begins listening to the Optimates and is now convinced that he should join them for the health of the Republic. He fully believes that the tyrannical Caesar must be stopped. The Optimates take control of Rome. The great military commander, Metellus Scipio (Jon Bernthal), joins Pompey. The articulate Marcus Cicero (Greg Vaughan) sees endless wars coming.

After a fierce battle, Caesar defeats Vercingetorix at Alesia, with a siege with two barricades: one to isolate the city and another to contain the groups of tribes within the city. Caesar was ultimately able to gain victory and pacify the Gauls under Roman control. Vercingetorix surrenders and is taken prisoner. Shortly after, Pompey strips Caesar of his titles and accuses him of insubordination and treason, demanding he disband his army. Labienus sees this as the opportune time to defect from the Caesar camp, and joins Pompey. The rest of Caesar's army remained fiercely loyal.

Caesar refuses the demands and approaches the Rubicon, the site that marks the boundary between Cisalpine Gaul and Italy and where the armies had to enter unarmed. In an extraordinary move, Caesar and his legions cross the Rubicon, deliberately breaking the law on imperium and making armed conflict inevitable. Caesar says: "Alea jacta est" and has a climactic battle near Arimino. Caesar wins mostly due to his impressive commandeering. Pompey is forced to flee to Greece, while Labienus is killed and Scipio and Cato flee to Africa. Caesar is appointed dictator and is celebrated in Rome.

Cast

 * Timothée Chalamet as Julius Caesar
 * Logan Lerman as Pompey
 * Lorenzo Richelmy as Titus Labienus
 * Ian Somerhalder as Cato the Younger
 * Can Yaman as Vercingetorix
 * Oscar Isaac as Mark Antony
 * Grace Van Patten as Calpurnia
 * Greg Vaughan as Marcus Cicero
 * Tommy Flanagan as Marcus Crassus
 * Jon Bernthal as Metellus Scipio
 * Ben Barnes as Decimus Brutus
 * Romain Duris as Servius Galba
 * Daniele Liotti as Quintus Cicero
 * Andreas Pietschmann as Cornelius Scipio

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