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Review: Pompeii

By Christine Petralia

Image courtesy of TriStar Pictures & FilmDistrict

March 28, 2014

 

Just as in Titanic, you shouldn’t be disappointed by the outcome of the latest film to take a stab at the destruction of the city of Pompeii. And just as in Titanic, there’s a bunch of character building before the big volcanic eruption. However, you really just don’t care as much about the main characters as you did in Titanic. Perhaps it’s because they never actually consummate their relationship? In either case, it’s a pretty good ‘action’ film, if you can call it that, for the long winter months.

 

The film opens in 62 AD Britannia when a tribe of Celtic horsemen are wiped out by Romans led by Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland). The only survivor is a young boy named Milo (Dylan Schombing). He is captured by slave traders and grows up learning how to be a gladiator. Fast forward 17 years later, when a slave owner is impressed by Milo’s (Kit Harington) skills. He’s then brought with a group of slaves to Pompeii. Along the way, they encounter a carriage with the city ruler’s daughter Cassia (Emily Browning). One of her horses is injured, and she allows Milo to tend to it. He kills it to put it out of its misery, and she’s drawn to him. He then goes off with the slaves, while she goes back to Pompeii to be with her family.

 

It turns out Cassia has left Rome to get away for Corvus, who is now a senator and wants her hand in marriage. But Corvus has followed her to Pompeii to make a deal with her father to make the city better. As a way to show Corvus Pompeii is a great city, they plan a gladiator battle in its arena. And who is going to fight? Of course, Milo and his frenemy Atticus (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). Before the battle though, at a party at the ruler’s compound where the slaves are brought in for show, Cassia sees Milo and is intrigued, but distracted by Corvus. When an earthquake occurs (one of many as the volcano is awakening), a horse gets spooked and Milo comes to the rescue. The pair flee for a bit to get away from the compound, but Milo insists they can’t be together. When they return, Cassia begs to save Milo’s life, but we soon learn he’ll most likely die in the arena during battle.

 

After some more non-sense of bargaining between Corvus, Cassia agrees to marry him to spare her family’s lives. But soon, after a few more battles where Milo and Atticus win, Mount Vesuvius erupts, turning the entire city into chaos. Cassia’s parents are buried, but Corvus manages to survive. He brings Cassia back to the villa and locks her away. Somehow though, as all of the city tries to flee to the waters and such, Milo manages to rescue Cassia in the villa and the make it back to the arena to find her parents. They also met up with Atticus, who has survived a tsunami that was triggered by the earthquakes.

 

As we know, her parents have passed, but Corvus is waiting around for her. He kidnaps her (again) and leaves his men to battle Milo and Atticus. Milo goes after Cassia, but Atticus battles one last time, wins and then is killed in the eruption. As they go through the town, dodging ash and such, somehow Milo stops them, rescues Cassia and leaves Corvus to die in the lava. The two then rush off on a horse, but it gets tired. They realize that they can’t escape their impending doom, so they let the horse go and have their first and last kiss as the lava washes over them. They are encased in an ash tomb together forever. I

 

didn’t hate Pompeii, but I didn’t love it either. The plot was pretty weak with the constant back and forth between Corvus and Cassia and her family. The battle scenes were pretty awesome though, and the destruction CG was pretty good too. For a mid-February film, it wasn’t horrible. But I wouldn’t have spent my money on it during high movie viewing months. And it was an odd role for Sutherland. He did an OK job, though, making you hate him. So, I guess it worked.

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