Pompeii

Friday, turned out to be a night without anyone to hang with, so I took myself out to Taco Bell - and remembered better times and then to the dollar theater.  Pompeii was the first movie up, so I went for it.  If it has a volcano, can it be all bad?

The critics had brutalized this movie long ago, so it also meant it has possible Kris interest - the more critics assassinate a film for being worthless and without social message - the greater the obvious entertainment value!  The short of it: this movie a keeper and has two thumbs up from moi!

Keifer Sutherland, famous for shows such as 24 and movies of absolutely no interest to me like Flatliners, and even less notable ones!  He seems drawn to everything I have interest in!  And his lack of acting ability shined through yet again.  Thank god for actors and actresses of absolute no credit to carry this movie!

Obviously, this movie deals with Pompeii, a magnificent partially dug archaeological site in southern Italy.  So lots of CGI, lots of shooting at what looked to be real Roman sites.  Sometimes a little blurry, sometimes odd angles, some innovation required to carry a story that has to look 2,000 years old.  But, I am guessing that the camera crew was inexperienced.

The acting was a bit shallow but then so was the script, just a tremendous amount of sword fighting, blood and guts.

Add in lots of good volcano effects - geysers, cracks, landslides, firebombs, ash, pyroclastic flows (I was in one at Mt. St. Helens so I remember well what it looked, felt and smelled like!), etc.  This was the strongest point of the movie and was well researched and done.  (After-all, all things vulcan - are of strong interest to me!)

Running throughout is an odd love story, an odd tale of political corruption and contrived marriage.  Unfortunately, not a historically accurate movie in the least, but then how popular would the movie be if the real role of women in the Roman Empire, circa 70 AD was really filmed?

It all comes together well and I will not tell you the ending.  I will just say that this movie joins that small minority for films whom have ever been able to draw a tear from me.

A good movie to go see, no nudity, one kiss, lots of gladiator violence and acts of violence by nature.
But, not a good movie if you are romantically wounded ... no sense in salting those wounds.