Pompeii (C+ or 2/4 stars)
In 79 AD, Italy's Mount Vesuvius erupted, wiping out the small, seaside city of Pompeii in, well, 'Pompeii' (a big, cheesy, sword & sandal flick directed with special effect-driven excess by Paul W.S. Anderson). Game of Thrones star Kit Harington plays our hero Milo, who as a child saw his community slaughtered by the vicious/corrupt Roman soldier, Corvus (a malevolent Kiefer Sutherland). Milo escaped by pretending to be dead in a pile of dead bodies. He is later captured & sold into slavery {sound like Gladiator much?}, where his incredible fighting skills get him entered in a gladiatorial battle-to-the-death tournament. Linked in chains, he travels with fellow slaves to Pompeii to compete in the large, but crumbling arena there.
Along the trek, he meets the pretty daughter of a wealthy merchant, Cassia (Emily Browning), & he impresses her with his sensitive horse whispering skills. Cassia is returning to her parents (Jared Harris, Carrie-Ann Moss) after a lengthy, unhappy stay in Rome, where she attracted the attention of Corvus, now a corrupt senator. But Milo has gotten HER attention. Our hero is set to fight the powerful Atticus (Lost's Mr. Eko, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), who believes he can finally earn his freedom with "1 more win" in the arena. But these 2 slaves are driven by revenge and, quite predictably, end up forming an alliance against the powers that be.
Meanwhile, callous Corvus is attempting to force Cassia's hand-in-marriage from her father, who needs Rome's support for his building a sturdier city infrastructure {... little does he know}. All hell breaks loose about 65 minutes into the film when Mount Vesuvius (always lingering in the background of most shots) finally decides to erupt and continues to do so for the film's final 35 minutes. We get enormous sinkholes, toppling statues, large explosions, fireballs in the sky, billowing smoke, streams of burning lava, a rogue wave, & thick volcanic ash. Chaos ensues as every Pompeiian (rich & poor) attempts anything & everything to stay alive; and Milo must fight to save Cassia as the once spectacular Pompeii crumbles to fire & ash around him.
I liked Kit Harington as our young, hunky slave-turned-gladiator. He doesn't get to show any real acting chops, so to speak. And he's not a towering presence. But he's compact, feisty, & appropriately swoon-worthy. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is very good as fierce black gladiator, Atticus. His charisma & formidable fighting skills aid the story quite well. Emily Browning is serviceable as Cassia. She's neither good nor bad; just pretty and ... there. But I did like the final poignant moment that she & Harington share onscreen. It's one of the few examples of true artistry to be found in the movie. Kiefer Sutherland sneers, snarls, & pouts his way through the script as our 1-dimensional villain. And both Jared Harris & Carrie-Ann Moss are wasted in cliched, weak-willed, aristocrat parent roles.
The special effects (Vesuvius rumbles, explodes, & rains its Wrath of God) are pretty good. But because the climax, like the rest of the film, is not historically accurate, the EFFECT of those effects is lessened. Events did not necessarily happen the way they are depicted. So I ooh-ed & ahh-ed, but wasn't emotionally devastated; say, like I was with 1997's Titanic ... a more effective fictional love story set against a real life catastrophe. This film doesn't elicit the same horror. In fact, I was more invested in Pliny the Younger's first-hand account of what happened when Vesuvius erupted as excerpted in the opening scene. 'Pompeii' is a guilty pleasure movie. I was never bored. But it's hard to ignore the flabby drama, recycled disaster movie material, shallow characterizations, & historical errors.
Along the trek, he meets the pretty daughter of a wealthy merchant, Cassia (Emily Browning), & he impresses her with his sensitive horse whispering skills. Cassia is returning to her parents (Jared Harris, Carrie-Ann Moss) after a lengthy, unhappy stay in Rome, where she attracted the attention of Corvus, now a corrupt senator. But Milo has gotten HER attention. Our hero is set to fight the powerful Atticus (Lost's Mr. Eko, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), who believes he can finally earn his freedom with "1 more win" in the arena. But these 2 slaves are driven by revenge and, quite predictably, end up forming an alliance against the powers that be.
Meanwhile, callous Corvus is attempting to force Cassia's hand-in-marriage from her father, who needs Rome's support for his building a sturdier city infrastructure {... little does he know}. All hell breaks loose about 65 minutes into the film when Mount Vesuvius (always lingering in the background of most shots) finally decides to erupt and continues to do so for the film's final 35 minutes. We get enormous sinkholes, toppling statues, large explosions, fireballs in the sky, billowing smoke, streams of burning lava, a rogue wave, & thick volcanic ash. Chaos ensues as every Pompeiian (rich & poor) attempts anything & everything to stay alive; and Milo must fight to save Cassia as the once spectacular Pompeii crumbles to fire & ash around him.
I liked Kit Harington as our young, hunky slave-turned-gladiator. He doesn't get to show any real acting chops, so to speak. And he's not a towering presence. But he's compact, feisty, & appropriately swoon-worthy. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is very good as fierce black gladiator, Atticus. His charisma & formidable fighting skills aid the story quite well. Emily Browning is serviceable as Cassia. She's neither good nor bad; just pretty and ... there. But I did like the final poignant moment that she & Harington share onscreen. It's one of the few examples of true artistry to be found in the movie. Kiefer Sutherland sneers, snarls, & pouts his way through the script as our 1-dimensional villain. And both Jared Harris & Carrie-Ann Moss are wasted in cliched, weak-willed, aristocrat parent roles.
The special effects (Vesuvius rumbles, explodes, & rains its Wrath of God) are pretty good. But because the climax, like the rest of the film, is not historically accurate, the EFFECT of those effects is lessened. Events did not necessarily happen the way they are depicted. So I ooh-ed & ahh-ed, but wasn't emotionally devastated; say, like I was with 1997's Titanic ... a more effective fictional love story set against a real life catastrophe. This film doesn't elicit the same horror. In fact, I was more invested in Pliny the Younger's first-hand account of what happened when Vesuvius erupted as excerpted in the opening scene. 'Pompeii' is a guilty pleasure movie. I was never bored. But it's hard to ignore the flabby drama, recycled disaster movie material, shallow characterizations, & historical errors.