POMPEII 3D REVIEW
I had high hopes for Pompeii 3D – and but for an improbable and overly cheesy romantic angle, it largely delivered.
That’s because explosive action scenes and a strong showing from Kit Harington – John Snow to all of you Game of Thrones fans – in his first leading role on the big screen save the Paul WS Anderson (Resident Evil) epic from being a flop.
I imagine most of you know what happened to the once beautiful Italian city of Pompeii way back in 79AD.
For those of you that don’t, the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius wiped it off the face of the earth. And it’s safe to say that the volcano is the film’s main saving grace.
Anderson’s take on the events centre on a young British lad called Milo (Harington). Having seen his entire family butchered by the Romans and their ruthless Senator Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland), he is rendered a slave.
Fast forward 17 years and Milo, known only as “The Celt”, is a feared gladiator – so it’s not long before the Roman chiefs march him off to Pompeii to compete in their brutal arena.
However, that’s when the tiresome love story kicks in.
Milo catches the eye of the beautiful (but largely annoying) Cassia, daughter of a wealthy, politically-minded Pompeii merchant (Jared Harris).
Cassia (Emily Browning) is, of course, also being courted by the corrupt Corvus – making for a rather cliched love triangle.
It should be noted that Sutherland’s character is as unlikeable as his iconic role of Jack Bauer in 24 is revered. His British accent really grated on me and in truth he was perhaps mis-cast in the role.
In the meantime, Milo forms an unlikely friendship with fellow gladiator Atticus (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) in what is the best part of the story.Although the fight scenes owe a lot to James Cameron’s Gladiator, they serve as welcome relief to the needless love angle.
Indeed, Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost’s Mr Eko) is perhaps the most likeable character on show and has some memorable moments.
Everything else goes out the window when mother nature takes over, though.
Teased from the get-go, the moment when Vesuvius blows its top is epic – especially in 3D. It’s absolute carnage galore and almost unfathomable that something of that ilk actually happened in real life.
And while that spells the end for Pompeii, it just about saves the day for an otherwise average film.
Rating: 3/5. Watched at West End Cinema, Boston
