Toward the middle of Pompeii, set mostly in 79 A.D., a group of slaves gather in an arena to practice their fighting skills. The next day they will be the entertainment for 20,000 screaming savages eager to see them kill one another. The main event will pit Milo vs. Atticus, two formidable foes who also happen to share a jail cell.
Oddly, instead of merely trash talking at practice, they proceed to duel, effectively beating the snot out of one another the day before they fight to the death.
How is this a good idea?
The scene feels like fighting for the sake of fighting. It’s a moment crafted by the film’s four screenwriters (more than three is almost always bad) and director Paul W.S. Anderson (Resident Evil) out of fear because they’re worried too much talking will lose the audience.
And so they provide senseless, un-dynamic action to pass the time, hoping the idiocy of it all isn’t too offensive.
In fairness the scene does provide a narrative purpose, though we don’t realize what that is until much later. And so the sequence sits there like a lump, void of credibility and conviction.
It’s enough to take you out of the movie.
Not all of Pompeii is this senseless, but enough of it is to make it a disappointment.
In the days leading to the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, Milo (Kit Harington, wishing he was still on Game of Thrones), a slave who can handle a sword, is forced to compete in the arena against Atticus (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Lost).
NOT ALL OF POMPEII IS THIS SENSELESS, BUT ENOUGH OF IT IS TO MAKE IT A DISAPPOINTMENT.
Prior to battle he meets Cassia (Emily Browning) and her assistant Ariadne (Jessica Lucas), and is immediately smitten with Cassia (and she with him).
Because Cassia’s wealthy parents (Jared Harris and Carrie-Anne Moss) need a smarmy visiting senator named Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland) to sign off on their development plans, Milo and Cassia don’t stand much of a chance. Add in the fact that Corvus wants Cassia’s hand in marriage in order to seal the deal and the two lovebirds have little hope at all.
Throughout we see images of Mt. Vesuvius starting to boil over, which foreshadows what’s to come and adds futility the proceedings. These people can maneuver, fall in love and politic all they want, but when a massive volcano is about to burn everything they know to the ground, all that petty personal stuff doesn’t mean very much.
The visual effects vary from so-so to spectacular, an odd note of inconsistency for a movie of this scale.
For reference, anyone who saw Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters knows what mediocre effects look like, and a handful of shots here fall in that category. On the other hand, there’s a massive flood that’s full of tension and volcanic fireballs causing destruction around every corner that are really something to behold.
The picture looks fine in 3D, but unless you want ash flying in your face it’s definitely not a necessity.
As for the story, it’s as unoriginal as you’d expect. You know the love angles and twists early on, so the viewing experience ends up an impatient waiting game for the inevitable eruption.
If the action throughout were as tense and exciting as it is during the finale, Pompeii would’ve had a chance.
Alas, it is merely yet another effects-driven historical saga that over promises and under delivers.
POMPEII (2) Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson • Starring Kit Harington, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Emily Browning, Jessica Lucas, Carrie Moss, Kiefer Sutherland • Rated PG-13 • 105 min. • At Century Cinemas Del Monte, Maya Cinemas, Northridge Cinemas, Cannery Row XD.