Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Starring: Kit Harrington, Emily Browning, Kiefer Sunderland
Plot: A slave, Milo (Kit Harrington),
must save his love, Cassia (Emily Browning), from Roman Senator Corvus and the
erupting Mount Vesuvius .
2014 is certainly the year for disaster flicks; Noah has
already faced the flood, Godzilla will be smashing up the Earth and Into The
Storm will whirlwind its way onto screens this August. Pompeii ,
from the director of Resident Evil, faced poor box office returns back in
February, taking only $84 million on its $100 budget (excluding marketing
costs). The question on everyone’s minds is… is it an underrated flop? The
short answer is yes, dependent on what you’re looking for.
Arguably, the majority of audiences will be seeing Pompeii
for the destruction and utter carnage (and rightfully so…). Pompeii
isn’t for those that want an accurate, historical interpretation of one of
nature’s most devastating disasters. It’s camp and it’s utterly ridiculous but
once that volcano erupts, it’s insanely fun and barely stops for a breath, and
that’s where this film really succeeds, in it’s special effects. On a budget of
$100 million, you’d expect fairly top-notch effects and thankfully, you get
lots of it. The trailers merely tease the colossal amount of action in the
final 30 minutes of this film, with a crumbling arena and giant tsunami thrown
in for good measure. The wide shots of Pompeii
and the tonnes of volcanic ash protruding through the air will leave you in awe
(particularly in 3D).
There aren’t particularly any standouts amongst the cast as
no one seems to be taking it too seriously. Kit Harrington, whose credits
consist only of Game of Thrones and Silent Hill: Revelation, is fairly
impressive as the lead. He shines in the action sequences, particularly those
in the arena before the volcano erupts. Emily Browning takes the female lead
role, the typical damsel in distress and love interest for Harrington’s
character. Their chemistry isn’t entirely convincing and, at times, it feels a
little forced. Nevertheless, the main event of the film consists of them
running or galloping on a horse, and by that point you’re watching the
destruction, not whether they look like a couple or not! The supporting cast
are incredibly mediocre here also. Kiefer Sutherland is incredibly camp (embarrassingly
so at times) and his British accent, like Carrie-Anne Moss’, are very shaky.
In Conclusion: the only real problem with this film is the
build up; it feels a little tedious after a while and nothing really happens.
Once the carnage finally gets down, you forget about the poor accents and
chemistry, because your eyes will light up and ears flinch at the sound (which
is superbly edited) of Mount Vesuvius erupting in a Lord
of the Rings-esque finale – a hell of a fun ride.
