Starring: Kit Harrington, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning, Kiefer Sutherland, Jared Harris, Jessica Lucas.
Distributor: Icon Films
Runtime: 105 mins. Reviewed in Mar 2014
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Most audiences know that the city of Pompeii was destroyed by an eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D.
Which probably means that audiences who go to see Pompeii will want to see the eruption and its consequences. They will not be disappointed because the special effects are quite special, and the sequence goes on for over 30 minutes. During the film, there are several overhead shots of what is brewing in the volcano, followed by various tremors, then the molten fire and lava are thrown into the air and then come down the mountainside – while there is quite an amount of ash, the main special effects are many, many fireballs which rain down on the city, on the people, on the harbour, on ships with people trying to escape the disaster not. As disaster movies go, this part of the film is quite effective.
But there is a whole story prior to the eruption. Audiences who have seen Spartacus as well as Gladiator will recognise a great number of similarities in Pompeii. Actually, it opens in northern Brittania with a Celtic people, experts in horsemanship, brutally conquered by the Romans under the leadership of the later Senator Corvus, played with laid-on arrogance and venom by Kiefer Sutherland. A young boy survives the massacre of the whole privilege and of his parents, only to be captured and taken to Londinium (explained as the capital of Brittania) where he trained as a gladiator, impressing a local authority (who looks a little like Frank Thring and gives a Thringinsh performance) who takes him to Italy, and to Pompeii.
The gladiator, Milo, is played by Kit Harrington, not well-known on the big screen, but with a huge reputation as one of the key stars of television’s Game of Thrones. Pompeii may not be the answer to his big-screen ambitions, but will get him noticed, although he has to play a rather humourless role, bent on revenge, skilled at fighting as a gladiator, but a bit solid and stolid nonetheless. On his way to Pompeii, he has the opportunity to stand out, when Cassia (Emily Browning) is travelling in the carriage back from Rome and her horse stumbles and he is able to put it out of its misery. She is fascinated and attracted, though the soldiers in charge of gladiators are certainly not.
Cassia’s parents, played by Carrie Anne Moss and Jared Harris, are interested in development of the city of Pompeii and are relying on the intervention of the now Senator Corvus, who has set his lascivious eye on Cassia. The ground is set for confrontations, gladiatorial fights, brutal treatment by the Senator. In the cells under the arena, Milo encounters and African champion gladiator (Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje) who is about to get his freedom after his last fight. Milo warns him that this will not be the case and in the arena, when all the gladiators have to fight Roman soldiers, they see that this is the truth. Milo and Atticus defeat all the soldiers and are appreciated by the sadistic crowd. Cassia gives a thumbs up and is able to save their lives.
While the film does get complicated, the complications are different because of the eruption and the wilful and brutal behaviour of the Senator. And we’re back at the eruption and, as many have pointed out, an ending which owes great deal to the end of Titanic!
This is a kind of film that it is easy to turn up one’s nose at. its director is best known for making the Resident Evil series which is a recommendation only for horror fantasy fans. But, despite all this, this reviewer rather enjoyed Pompeii.
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