Review: Pompeii

Review: Pompeii (2014)

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Principal Cast Members: Kit Harrington, Emily Browning and Kiefer Sutherland

I'll start with a list of words you should not expect to here in connection with Pompeii: Original characters/plot, Historical accuracy, Geographical accuracy, Quiet, As good as Game of Thrones. Now I know from the sounds of that first sentence it seems like I shall spend this entire review ranting about how bad the film is, but I promise you I shall not be. Now for me the best way of looking as this film is as a piece of fantasy, for I have the problem that I have both an A-Level in Geography and have visited Pompeii itself. Therefore although admit it the recreation of the town was impressive it is difficult for me to get past the point that it appear to have upped and moved location since the events of the film. So by classing the film as fantasy I can embrace the ridiculous, such as the fact that Vesuvius can apparently create a huge Tsunami... With this in mind my main problem with the film is that it spends it's first 45 minutes trying to be a character piece which it honestly has no right to be. For anyone who has any experience in watching films the stock characters and plot-lines will be distinctly recognizable. I mean who hasn't seen a film start where a child witness the death of their parents only for time to jump forward to reveal that said child is now and adult and a little bit pissed. Harrington's presence only serves to remind you that if you wanted a character study you could be watching Game of Thrones instead. It's also almost painful to see the waste of both Jared Harris and Carrie Ann-Moss both of whom could of shone with properly developed and meaningful roles. Yes, I know I sound like I hated the film (I did hate the first half surprisingly) but thankfully after 45 minutes Paul W.S. Anderson decides to drop the character stuff and get to what he does best, and it's glorious! From the splendid Gladiator fight to the destruction of Pompeii itself you feel like you finally get the disaster movie you've been waiting for. The special effects department get everything right (in terms of visuals, not realism) and the final half of the film is breathtaking and exhilarating. It's here that Harrington and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje come into their own and stretch the muscles. While you can see that Anderson was trying to emulate films like Titanic by mixing human drama and disaster it's unfortunate that it didn't pay off and leaves you wondering what the film might of been like if it was not so obviously a film of two halves.