Hong stars as a high roller seeking to reunite a priceless sword with its rightful owner, psychic detective Andrew Garrett (Lamas in a stock footage appearance), so that the latter can do battle with his champion, and settle a rivalry that started millennia ago when their respective spirits inhabited the bodies of general Parmenion and his archrival Alexander the Great.

Museum director Chris Kilos counts in his collection a prized sword, rumored to have belonged to Alexander the Great himself, and to grant protection to its bearer thanks to a blessing from the god Apollo.

Gladiator Cop, which is directed by The Swordsman's editor Nick Rotundo, repurposes much footage from that film as well as some outtakes, most notably the scenes featuring Lamas' character and his love interest played by Claire Stansfield.

[1] As Lamas was not asked to reprise his role, his character espouses a gladiator persona during fights, which enables him to wear a partial face mask, concealing the use of a double named in the credits as Mark Foreman.

[4] SC Entertainment, the company behind Gladiator Cop and its predecessor, was in seemingly poor standing with the local movie community by that time, and the shoot was scarcely publicized.

Those funds were initially approved, but upon further examination, the OFDC noticed that a large amount of content was recycled from a previous work, which put the filming dates for Gladiator Cop outside of the timeframe allowed to qualify for assistance.

[12] Gerald Pratley, author of the book A Century of Canadian Cinema, had little good to say about the film or its controversial backers, assessing: "The audience must [...] suffer the most boring and ridiculous story about Alexander the Great's ancient sword.

"[14] TV Guide dismissed the film as "just an updated sword-and-sandal flick" and an "uninspired rehash", adding that "[c]onsidering its imaginative jumping-off point, Gladiator Cop disappoints by covering the same ground as the first Swordsman before it degenerates into just another fight-to-the-death plot line.

"[15] Producer Nicolas Stiliadis teamed with Nick Rotundo yet again to create G-2, a true second installment to the series, which loosely follows the alternate continuity established by Gladiator Cop.