Pompeii

Name: Pompeii
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, Romance
Released: February 21, 2014
Duration: 105 min
Rating: 39
Cast: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning, Jared Harris, Jessica Lucas

2014

METASCORE

Generally unfavorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 223 Ratings

See All

5.2

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

5.2	Your Score
5.2	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 223 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Pompeii

Now Playing: Pompeii

Movie Details & Credits

Summit Entertainment | Release Date: February 21, 2014 | PG-13

Starring: Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Carrie-Anne Moss, Emily Browning, Jared Harris, Jessica Lucas, Kiefer Sutherland, Kit Harington

Summary: In 79 A.D., Milo (Kit Harington), a slave turned gladiator, finds himself in a race against time to save his true love Cassia (Emily Browning), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant who has been unwillingly betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts in a torrent of blazing lava, Milo must fight his way out of theIn 79 A.D., Milo (Kit Harington), a slave turned gladiator, finds himself in a race against time to save his true love Cassia (Emily Browning), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant who has been unwillingly betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts in a torrent of blazing lava, Milo must fight his way out of the arena in order to save his beloved as the once magnificent Pompeii crumbles around him.… Expand

Director: Paul W.S. Anderson

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Drama, History, Romance

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 105 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Stream On

Buy on

Stream On

Expand

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

Bilge Ebiri

Feb 23, 2014

More fun than any civilization’s fiery extinction should ever be, Paul W.S. Anderson’s Pompeii 3-D is gloriously exciting kitsch – a poor man’s "Titanic" crossed with an even poorer man’s "Gladiator." Read full review

Tom Russo

Feb 20, 2014

Anderson’s stab at rendering the Mount Vesuvius catastrophe with a 3-D “Titanic” gloss. Read full review

Peter Debruge

Feb 19, 2014

While more coherent than much of Anderson’s recent work, the film proves less successful at combining destruction and damsel-in-distress storytelling within the same frame, serving up blurry images of Milo trying to rescue Cassia while the city crumbles around them. Read full review

Marc Savlov

Feb 26, 2014

Pompeii delivers the goods – well, at least during its final 20 minutes. Read full review

Amon Warmann

May 3, 2014

Pompeii make tick all the necessary movie checkboxes, but its execution is unoriginal and uninspired. Read full review

Ian Buckwalter

Feb 21, 2014

Anderson's repeated hurling of flaming volcanic projectiles directly at the screen — the dominant feature of the latter third of Pompeii — is firmly in the lovably trashy spirit of the '50s drive-in. Read full review

Joe Neumaier

Feb 20, 2014

It’s impossible to find anything that grabs you in Pompeii. This lumpen adventure with a misguided romance buries anything in the disaster-flick genre that might have been a blast. Read full review

SEE ALL 33 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

kiwijman

Mar 20, 2014

i am giving this movie a 10 because i feel it deserves a higher score. after reading a few reviews i felt like i shouldn't bother watching this but it was fairly good with amazing cgi and good acting. I may have been forced to like it because of kit harrington but even non game of thronesi am giving this movie a 10 because i feel it deserves a higher score. after reading a few reviews i felt like i shouldn't bother watching this but it was fairly good with amazing cgi and good acting. I may have been forced to like it because of kit harrington but even non game of thrones fans should admit he didnt do a bad job. i would recommend this to people who are interested by history and to people who enjoy watching mass destruction. id defnitley say the story wasnt the best but not terrible.… Expand

4 of 8 users found this helpful44

ChiefSweetums

May 20, 2014

I really liked this movie. It's watchable history, like Troy, which we need a lot more of. I never knew much about Pompeii or cared to until these actors brought it to life. It made me want to learn the history and that says a lot for a movie that can do that.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

csw12

May 4, 2014

Pompeii has moments were I see greatness in how the movie was filmed and times were it becomes a little embarrassing. As a whole the director seem to try and make a movie that was action packed, suspenseful and incorporate a love story that would all come together but in the end came up aPompeii has moments were I see greatness in how the movie was filmed and times were it becomes a little embarrassing. As a whole the director seem to try and make a movie that was action packed, suspenseful and incorporate a love story that would all come together but in the end came up a little short.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

REDWOU

Nov 22, 2014

Gladiator was pretty good. I mean, it wasn't as good as Braveheart...oh, wait. This is Pompeii. Pompeii was crap, it literally copied every small detail of Gladiator, including the black accomplice in the arena detail. Otherwise, it copied Titanic, with the rich girl being saved by the poorGladiator was pretty good. I mean, it wasn't as good as Braveheart...oh, wait. This is Pompeii. Pompeii was crap, it literally copied every small detail of Gladiator, including the black accomplice in the arena detail. Otherwise, it copied Titanic, with the rich girl being saved by the poor boy while disaster strikes.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

DCEdmonds

Nov 13, 2014

"Pompeii" 10 Scale Rating: 3.5 (Bad) ...

The Good: The best part of the film is easily the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. As the storyline lets you down, you look forward to that moment and it does not disappoint. The filmmakers did a lot of research and it shows. The eruption is very"Pompeii" 10 Scale Rating: 3.5 (Bad) ...

The Good: The best part of the film is easily the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. As the storyline lets you down, you look forward to that moment and it does not disappoint. The filmmakers did a lot of research and it shows. The eruption is very realistic and the aftermath reflects everything you've read about the Pompeii disaster. While the cast mostly under-performed, Adewale Akinnuoye-gbaji was actually pretty good as Atticus, a barbarian fighting in the gladiator pits for his freedom.

The Bad: Kit Harrington tried hard enough, but falls flat in the lead role. Emily Browning was forgettable, which is a shame because she is usually decent. Kiefer Sutherland was completely out of place and while he had a few solid moments of decent BWAH HA HA villainy, he was mostly corny and absurd. Making matters worse, Harrington and Browning had zero chemistry, certainly not to the level where they'd risk life and limb for each other during a disaster. The entire storyline is cliche and predictable.… Expand

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

FilipeNeto

Sep 1, 2018

I confess I had some curiosity about this movie. Disaster films with volcanoes are no longer new ("Volcano" and "Dante's Peak" are good examples) but a film about a real historical fact as dramatic as the destruction of Pompeii (and the nearby city of Herculaneum) in 79 AD, is somewhatI confess I had some curiosity about this movie. Disaster films with volcanoes are no longer new ("Volcano" and "Dante's Peak" are good examples) but a film about a real historical fact as dramatic as the destruction of Pompeii (and the nearby city of Herculaneum) in 79 AD, is somewhat unusual. Unfortunately its much weaker than I thought it would be.

The plot is simple: a Celt, captured and enslaved after Romans massacred his family, becomes a successful gladiator and gets the attention of a wealthy Roman girl, disappointed in her culture's cruelty. When Vesuvius erupts, he will have the chance to flee with her and avenge his family, as the girl's forced bridegroom is, precisely, the one responsible for the massacre that has killed them. The influence of films and series such as "Gladiator", "Rome" and "Spartacus" is evident, but the fact is that the script is frankly underdeveloped, with characters so basic that we can summarize each one in a single word. Another problem I felt was the partiality of the plot, demonizing Roman civilization. The end of the film tries to be unpredictable but isn't properly capable of that, besides that makes everything too melodramatic. About historical accuracy... forget it. Who wrote the script totally ignored historical facts. That bombs or that tsunami are obscenities that attempt to the intelligence of those who know the basic about what actually happened in Pompeii.

Paul W.S. Anderson has a bad name as a director but this was his first movie that I actually watched. In this case, I recognize reason in the criticisms: he's a weak director, dazzled with the CGI but incompetent in the direction of the cast and the script. Regarding the cast, there are some heavy names like Kit Harington, Emily Browning and Kiefer Sutherland, but the performances were generally mediocre and uncompromising. It is true that the characters are too basic and underdeveloped but the actors also did not feel like sweating the shirt by their characters. Browning, for example, was unable to build a chemistry with his romantic pair. That intense love that should have existed is never there and everything sounds unlikely and artificial. Sutherland, who was the villain, is simply ham and histrionic. The best actor here was Akinnuoye-Agbaje, with a performance capable of harmonizing strength and action with some psychological depth and drama.

Visually, the film is a CGI feast and visual and sound effects of good quality and a lot of impact, mainly from half the film to the end. Cinematography helps, emphasizing the colors and with the camera moving quickly in the action scenes. The problem is that these were the only aspects where the film was really good, and this is not enough to make the movie good. It just makes it bearable.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

punksoulY

Jul 28, 2014

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This movie is a total waste of time. No character development no nothing. I mean there is this small child in Britain, seeing how his parents are slaughtered and killed by romans, getting caught by sort of mercenaries or whatever the **** they were, becoming a gladiator, killing everyone who is in his way over 17 years in London. After being recognized by a fat roman who wants him for his shows, getting him to italy where he gets to know a rich pompeiian girl on the way to pompeii, who falls in love with him, because he killed a horse with his bare hands. Being stuck in a cell with a black gladiator who just has the opportunity to get free after his last fight against the main character, realizing that the black guy Atticus is a formidable man having the same thoughts about romans... recognizing that the romans who killed his family 17 years ago are also in pompei, while the parents of the girl want to make business with the roman guy who killed the mom or the main character "Milo". Afterwards typical, i cannot reach the "bad" guy I have to kill countless statists in a fight in the collosseum, being rescued by the gutts of the girl who gets locked away.... Having to fight against the bad bad romans... Blubb* Ahh yeah there was a volcano... Piuu piuuu bad CGI, bad VFX bad everything... First there is an earthquake destroying the collosseum... Then a fight as usual in the ruins... Running away from the volcano.... Ahhh there was this girl.... Locked away just 2 Minutes before the volcano broke out... 15 km away from the collosseum... *WTF??? - Milo escapes with Atticus.. Atticus wants to run to the habour... Panicing people, booom tsss. typical cliché effects alla Dantes Peak, Volcano, or Armageddon - I have seen everything before in other movies... Total predictable development. Then Milo runs in 30 seconds 15 km to the place where the girl is locked... rescues her, brings her back to the city... Then the habour is flooded by a tsunami, which is stopped by the Citywall....... .*omfg.... Atticus, Girl and Milo try to find a way out... They meet the romans again... Girl gets kidnapped. Milo and atticus have to fight a bunch of romans.... Atticus fights against the ultrastrong roman... Atticus gets lethally injured but killes the roman.... Milo tries to follow the kidnapped girl on a horse which definetly has gps, because it can avoid any sort of impact, rock, fire, dust etc.... Car of the bad guy crushes.... girl gets sort of rescued... Stupid fight between milo and Kiefer Sutherland ( Bad Guy) **** result - Girl locks arm of bad guy with handcuffs... Milo is not getting his revenge .... " My gods are coming after you" - BOOOOORING .... Big Lava wave comes, which is at least 600 mph fast. Bad Guy Burns.... Atticus Burns as a free man .... The couple burns .... END .....

I recommend anybody who wants to see a movie with a plot to not watch this film. It is an absolute waste of time... I felt like i wasted 106 minutes of my life after finishing this movie, cause it is giving you absolutely nothing. The characters are totally flat, the story is already clear ( Pompeii falls) and the Main Story of Milo is absolutely pointless... He gets no revenge, he gets no friends, he gets no girl, he gets no life as a free man... I asked myself at the end... If I am able to run about 15 km in 30 seconds, I would at least have had the time to escape to Vienna with my "girl" to suisse germany or even denmark... Nooo .... I choose to die in the flames.... By telling the "girl" just look at me... while i burn to death.... This movie is absolute crap... Sorry.... If you want to see an entertaining movie, where you don't feel like you wasted valuable lifetime... Don't even think about watching this waste of money movie with a story which could've been more interesting if apes wrote it.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

SEE ALL 57 REVIEWS