3D is good, rest is shit. For the love of my life, I can not ever accept Kiefer "Jack Bauer" Sutherland as a Roman senator.

They should have called him Jacintus Constructus in the movie.

Paul W. S. Anderson is often cited as one of the worst living directors, but I do not despise him. He has directed his fair share of duds, to be sure, but I always sense in his films the hand of a gifted technician. He understands how to move a camera and how to create atmosphere, and it serves him well from time to time, as with the first Resident Evil adaptation. His latest film, Pompeii, is an amusing and largely satisfying ride which lifts from Gladiator and Titanic with fan-fiction zeal and includes moment of legitimate spectacle. The story turns on a Celtic slave haunted by the murder of his family by Roman soldiers; an able fighter, he becomes a celebrated combatant in the arena while also dreaming of revenge (this is where there are strong shades of Gladiator). He also catches the eye of a beautiful Roman aristocrat who is betrothed to, and tormented by, a sadistic and vain senator (hello, Titanic). The improbable romance is complicated when Mount Vesuvius goes boom, submerging the personal drama in a grander fight for survival (hello again, Titanic). This is an unoriginal film and in many ways an absurd one, but it is also an engaging and sexy, and warmly old-fashioned, sword-and-sandal romp. And the third-act depiction of the iconic ancient disaster is riveting and delivers on its promise, populated as it is with over-the-top and suspenseful chases and convincing, well-rendered flames.

B

By the way, this is an interesting article describing the (more than I expected) ways in which the film is realistic or at least modestly respectful of history: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-accurat ... t-to-life/

Oh, and I honestly found the gladiator fight before the eruption very exciting and well-cut/shot. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje commands the screen in general.

POMPEII

I was disappointed in this film. I was really looking forward to this. I thought it was going to be quite the disaster flick but it just felt limited or rushed. We get the huge plume and rocks and ash raining down, but it just wasn't working for me. Emily Browning, who played the love interest just doesn't have the right face for me. Kit Harrington was good as the lead but I think he should be annoyed that he works his ass off for 4 months to get in that shape and they hardly show it off in the film. Just an opinion. Kiefer was so out of place. He just doesn't look Roman, speak Roman, act Roman. Nothing about him convinces me he's Roman. He was like a guy in a very expensive Halloween costume. I did enjoy the visuals overall though and the action was nice as well. This should have been Rated R. If you're gonna make a film with Gladiator combat then just do R and give the violence film justice.

Grade - C

Nor did the Romans.

You are too nitpicky you know that.

Yeah, I dug Pompeii - - just the right blend of b-movie sword & sandals melodrama with a big disaster movie finish!


18 out of 5.

better than gravity

It's bad, but it's fun bad. I'm still not sure what accent Kiefer Sutherland was trying to pull off.

Eh, I found enjoyment in the film. Most of the acting and dialogue was flat and generic, but the effects were alright. The Mount Vesuvius, and the moments leading up to it, was handled a lot better than several past films featuring a volcanic eruption at least. B-

And I'm not familiar with Kiefer Sutherland at all, but he sounded as though he was purposely trying to sound a lot like Jeremy Irons. Every time he spoke I was thinking of Irons in Beautiful Creatures.

It's mediocre but watchable. Kiefer's accent was the biggest WTF in recent memory.

The conclusion: More Jon Snow!

I pretty much entirely agree with David's review on this. I'd also give it an entertaining B grade. I was very annoyed with when they went to get horses at the arena that the Senator was there for the girl. Yeah right, like he wouldn't be long gone in the face of a volcano erupting.

However, I did like the way it ended.

I actually didn't mind this either. The special effects are great and the battle/action sequences kept me interested. They are pretty solid, especially in comparison to that shitty Hercules movie.

Didn't care much for the characters though except for Mr. Eko who always has a compelling onscreen presence. Also, Jack Bauer as a villainous Roman Senator was pretty hilarious and fun to watch.

Emily Browning and Jessica Lucas make for some nice eye candy too .

Same here! Had low expectations and was pleasantly surprised with a good old fashioned B-movie. I thought the acting, special effects, music, and script (as implausible as a lot of it is) were surprisingly good.

Count me in on Team Pompeii too! It had all the corny melodrama I like in my disaster movies. The FX were surprisingly the worst part of the movie. They made up for it with the last shot. I really thought they would get away, but I guess you can't outrun nature's biggest gun. And the Emily Browning wouldn't let Harrington martyr himself! Take that Rose!

Pompeii

Well, it's total shit. It has a total B-movie feel to it. From its score, its laughable acting, its amateurish visual effects, its neophytic choreography, its PG-13 violence, and everything in between. It's just terrible. It's basically the unofficial remake of Gladiator mixed with the entire stolen slave/love/politician plot of Spartacus: Blood and Sand. There's a lot of talking, and not a lot of substance, it's cliché upon cliché, which is expected for its TV-level production, and the eruption takes forever to arrive.

It takes 50 minutes for us to learn the name of our Orlando Bloom wannabe protagonist, and it's ... Milo. LOL. What a stupid name. And in 17 years, from Milo turning from a boy to a gladiator, the people that wiped out his tribe have not aged a single day. Kiefer Sutherland (terrible actor) even has the same haircut (modern day haircut, I might add). Carrie-Ann Moss is like a statue throughout, Emily Browning tries, bless her, but ultimately fails because she doesn't know what acting is, and Kit Harington is just a waste of space.

I was simply bored throughout. I cannot think of one good thing about it. I just feel pity for it. From the very first second of the film, I just knew it was shit. Paul W.S. Anderson yet again produces of a cocktail of faeces. It's a [very] poor man's Gladiator.

F

It's not very good. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is the best part of the film by far and it's a shame he hasn't done much since his abrupt departure from Lost.