Pompeii is a movie about the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, how it destroyed an entire city, and there's also a love story, too. This special effects showcase was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and features Kit Harrington, Kiefer Sutherland, Emily Browning, Carrie-Anne Moss, Jared Harris, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje.
A young boy named Milo (Harrington) falls into slavery after his village is wiped out by a squadron of Roman soldiers kind of like Dar in that old Beastmaster movie. He then ends up becoming a gladiator due to his ability to kill people very efficiently just like Maximus in the Gladiator movie. After being taken to Pompeii to compete in the coliseum, Milo meets and falls for Cassia (Browning) who comes from a wealthy family but isn't happy with her life...so they're a lot like Jack and Rose from Titanic which is also a disaster flick, love story movie.
Milo ends up teaming with Atticus (Akinnuoye-Agbaje), a fellow gladiator who also doesn't like being a slave and is one arena victory away from earning his freedom. Meanwhile, Cassia's parents (Harris and Moss) strike a deal with Corvus (Sutherland), a Roman senator who was also in charge of the squadron of soldiers who wiped out Milo's people and now has the hots for Cassia, to bring Rome's economic might to their city. Oh, and there's also a big mountain that is about to ruin all the intrigue, espionage, and forbidden love that is playing out by covering it all with tons of ash and lava.
If you hadn't figured it out already, I did not like this movie. There was really nothing about it I found enjoyable at all...except when the credits started to roll and I could get up and leave the theater. If you're looking for a big special effects extravaganza then you will be disappointed as the movie visually is on about the same level as video game cutscenes and at times is barely above cartoon quality. The acting across the board is just bad which is due, in large part to horrible casting. Kiefer Sutherland is a Roman senator. Do I need to say anything else?
Paul W.S. Anderson is best known for directing movies like Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil, and Death Race some of which I like. Clearly, Pompeii was too big of an undertaking and overall just a sloppy, predictable mess. That being said, there are so many things wrong with this movie, you couldn't possibly put it all on just the director.
On the plus side, the story doesn't allow for a sequel...I hope.
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