Review: Pompeii Is More Gladiator Than Dante's Peak.
- Mar 28, 2017
- 2 min read
Rome in general, but the eruption of Vesuvius in particular, has always interested me. The way in which an entire city was frozen in time for centuries. This is not the movie I expected. Instead it is, for all intents and purposes, Gladiator with a volcano at the end.
After witnessing the death of his parents, a man known only as "The Celt" (Kit Harrington) is thrown into the arena where he becomes one of the top gladiators in England. When a wealthy slave owner brings him to Pompeii, "The Celt" is set to make his mark on the people who have come to see him die, as well as those who wish to see him live.
What we have here is a textbook example of a historical event that could make a great movie squandered by the likes of Paul W.S. Anderson, the clueless visionary behind the barely even entertaining Resident Evil franchise. He's not a man known for his restraint and here it shows. Flashy action scenes that lack substance and purpose and a political subplot that's about as interesting as the bland acting that portrays it. By the time any real volcanic activity happens the movies is over half finished and they still try to pass it off as some sort of surprise.
It's not until after so many stupid things have happened, swords getting cut in half, six men defeating twenty, Kiefer Sutherland being incredibly hammy, that fire starts to rain from the sky and at that point I just wanted to see the whole cast die as Vesuvius rendered judgement upon them for their unworthy performances. But no, instead we have to watch more fights, more political drama and are expected to feel for characters who have literally had five minutes of screen time, some even less. They even manage to jam in a damn chase scene when they should be focusing on an event that almost crippled one of the largest empires the world has ever known.
Popmeii could have been a violent gladiator film but instead there is only poorly acted combat an bloodless stabbings. Pompeii could have been a riveting look at the effect of the eruption upon the city itself, a character focused film that could touch on many subjects but instead there is only awful romance, politics and an ending that feels inevitably stupid. Unlike the city, Pompeii will not be remembered, nor will it be preserved.
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