Review: ‘Pompeii’ fizzles with a script lacking in focus and emotion

Posted on February 28, 2014

Maybe it’s because I’ve always been fascinated by the Roman Empire and its history and influence, but I was really hoping “Pompeii” would be a great film mixing fiction and history into a satisfying experience, in the vein of “Titanic” or “Gladiator.”

Unfortunately, what we get is a relatively generic disaster movie with a paint-by-the-numbers plot, decent but not great special effects and characters we want to care about but aren’t given enough reason to do so.

I knew going in I needed to keep my expectations in check. I even said in my preview column last week that Anderson is known more for guilty pleasure action than solid filmmaking. But in the end, my desire to see a solid film about a disaster that has fascinated people for years overcame what I should have known would be the case. In the end, “Pompeii” borrows its plot from two excellent movies, and fails to deliver one even close.

The film is rated PG-13 for disaster related peril and violence, nudity, sensuality and brief language.

Subscribe to our e-Edition and read the rest of the story. Already a subscriber? Click here to sign in.