Pompeii 3D

[stuartboy]

Really hoping that this won't be too cartoon-y, along the lines of Spartacus - Blood and Sand.
Hoping for some serious realism especially with it being 3D.
Impress me!

[newdot]

You have seen the trailer ?

I think you should lower your expectations.

[scootermcc]

Really hoping that this won't be too cartoon-y, along the lines of Spartacus - Blood and Sand.
Hoping for some serious realism especially with it being 3D.
Impress me!

The whole things plays like a soap opera with an exploding volcano in the background. Some good special effects though and Kiefer Sutherland camps it up big time with the best Kenneth Williams Carry On Cleo impression that your every likely to see.

Good escapist entertainment if you don't take it seriously.

[stuartboy]

Definitely more realistic than I had expected from the trailer, and the 3D was put to good use - even with the ubiquitous floaty things - this time bits of ash that float about constantly during eruption scenes.

This definitely does seem like an episode of Spartacus running as a rather lame backstory to the actual disaster, only without the copious amounts of fake theatrical blood, slo-mo scenes and scenes of gratuitous debauchery. In some respects it seems lacking for this very reason.
Kiefer Sutherland seems to be channeling Terry-Thomas throughout which is rather disconcerting not to mention distracting. I'd have liked The Celt to perhaps have had more of a Scottish accent? No - that would be too silly, although he was from Northern Britain (I thought he was a wee girl though at the begining!)
Back to the Spartacus theme - why was he made to be a seemingly invincible gladiator - just like Spartacus? (And where was Batiatus?!! Lol. Even the brawny shaven negro was here from Blood and Sand)

I guess this is an amalgam of Spartacus with Titanic with some lava.

One thing that did irritate though was no-one seemed at all bothered by the lack of oxygen, nor the noxious gases that would have come before the ash cloud. Indeed no-one seemed remotely interested in the volcano at all - just in their silly Games and fighting one another.

A good 7/10 from Me.
Altogether a good romp none the less, and no need for spoilers as we all know what happens.

[Yinster]

Back from Glasgow. Personally I really liked it. It isn't Gladiator (Oh I love that film) but it does a decent job. OH who has been to Pompeii commented how lifelike the aftermath of it was and even seeing a couple embracing whilst there. Apparently the real thing caught the people of Pompeii unaware. So I guess the film makers prolong the actual thing to give us drama and what ifs. Of course this is like Titanic where they made a story based from an actual event so it is fiction yet fact. Glad the director had sense and give us a film with an appropriate length so that it never out stays it's welcome. 7/10

[steve]

The film was OK but I cringed every time Kiefer Sutherland opened his mouth. Thought Romans were Italians so why did he feel he needed an English accent. Hope he never has to play an Englishman. Didn't feel it needed to be in 3D either.

[yogi]

Good silly fun. It erm borrows heavily from plenty of other films, but the sword fighting is well done, the volcano eruption and destruction is suitably epic and Kiefer hams it up to 11. A pleasant surprise. 7/10

[valda]

By Jupiter's cock, it was Spartacus without the sex and guts,Gladiator without the fabulousness (but with the obligatory Russell Crowe Brit Accent) and Up Pompeii without Frankie Howerd

Actually it was pretty good 3D, (was it filmed in 3D?) not too bad in the CGI, but dreadful dialogue, silly plot and big missing gaps in the storyline. Having said that, I enjoyed it a lot more than 300 Rise of and Empire..

Good to see one of my fav convicts from HBO's Oz, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje playing Atticus

6.5/10

[ozufan]

Too many ridiculous bits for my liking

[spoiler]during the eruption the streets are strewn with debris and buildings collapse left right and centre. There are hordes of dead bodies littering the road. Yet when Kiefer Sutherland drives his chariot around, the roads are spotless. Who cleaned them?[/spoiler]

[spoiler]The Celt gets 15 lashes and his back is a mess of deep scars but he suffers no ill effects the next day[/spoiler]

[spoiler]Got a sword stuck in your stomach? Never mind. Just break it off and use what's left to stab your opponent.[/spoiler]

[marjoreemarjora]

Quite enjoyed it, but have to agree with hubby for the first itme felt we sat too far back!!

Nice to see the fmukers there too.

Like Stuartboy thought our hero was a wee girl at the beginning.

Thought Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje looked so much kike Idris Elba, to begin with thought it was him, then started imagining him as the Gladiator!! Liked the action scenes, Keifer Sutherland's sidekick reminded me of Messala in Ben Hur, and started to think about that film and the chariot race as we were watching the chariot ring. In other words although the film good it did not keep my attention.

Not as good as I hoped, much preferred the fighting scenes in 300.

As we all knew the ending felt sorry for the folks when it came. Glad I went to see it although not one I am likely to remember or talk about in times to come, like Ben Hur and 300.

7/10 from us.