Author: Parsons

Love Revenge and Eruptions!

Love Revenge and Eruptions!

The movie Pompeii follows the characters Milo, Cassia, Senator Corvus, and Atticus. For the most part, the main setting is Pompeii right before and during the volcanic eruption of 79. In the first scene, we are shown a flashback of Britannia, where Milo’s whole clan is slaughtered by Senator Corvus’s right-hand man Proculus because the clan is Celtic Rebels. Milo ends up surviving and being picked up by slave traders. When Milo is all grown up and has been fighting as a Gladiator in the city of Londinium. His owner, Graecus, watches Milo and decides he should be fighting in Pompeii.

On the journey to Pompeii, we meet Cassia. She is traveling there from Rome. While her carriage is passing the slaves one of her horses hurts itself, this leads to Milo putting it out of its misery. Then we see Cassia running through the city on her way to her family’s villa. At the villa, Cassia is greeted by her parents. We learn they want an imperial investment when they speak with Senator Corvus in the army camp. 

The scene then shifts to the Arena. Here we meet Atticus, who is the current champion of Graecus’s gladiators and is one win away from freedom. We see the gladiators training for the Games which are set to be the next day. In the games, Atticus is set to fight Milo in the final fight of the day. During training, they fight but the Thracian’s brother tries to stab Milo. Atticus saves him, beginning their friendship. At night they are brought to Cassia’s Villa to be shown off. During the party, we learn the reason Cassia left Rome was because of interactions with the Senator. 

It is time for the games and the order of fights has been changed. Milo and Atticus are part of the first fight which is a recreation of the slaughter of Milo’s people. Milo and Atticus win and upset the Senator’s plans. Vesuvius then erupts and chaos ensues. During the eruption, Milo and Atticus fight Corvus and Proculus and beat them. Milo and Cassia can finally be together but they do not escape the eruption and die in the ash. Upon watching this movie I had a few questions. I was wondering if Cassia’s father was the proconsul who was in charge of Pompeii. I was also confused about the emperor’s situation in Rome, more specifically why was calling Emperor Titus “new” a bad thing? Or did I miss something from the scene that was more an issue? Also, in regards to the announcers for the bouts in the arena, did they actually wear those masks? Even with these questions though, I thought the movie was very entertaining and a fun experience. Also, while I was not a fan of some of the inaccuracies of the eruption I did think they made for better drama. I always find it interesting that many of the Roman-based films I have watched have the antagonist being a corrupt politician, in this movie Senator Corvus in Gladiator it is Commodus.

Gladiator: Maximus’s Revenge

Gladiator: Maximus’s Revenge

The movie starts with General Maximus commanding a Roman Army against the remnants of the Germanic Tribes. With this victory, the Roman army has finally defeated the tribes for good. The emperor at the time, Marcus Aurelius, is reaching the end of his life and needs to announce a new emperor. He has a son named Commodus, however, the son lacks the key values of a good Roman, so Marcus Aurelius wants to name Maximus emperor. The emperor also had a daughter named Lucilla who acts as a voice of reason to Commodus. Before Caesar can make this announcement public, Commodus kills him and says he was named Caesar. He asks Maximus to then give him his support, but Maximus disrespects him by ignoring the offer. Commodus then orders Maximus to be killed along with his wife and young son, but Maximus escapes. He is wounded in his escape and tries to reach his family in time but is too late. He is captured by slave traders who heal him and then sell him to Proximo, a former gladiator, and owner of a gladiatorial school. Under Proximo’s ownership, Maximus was made to fight in gladiatorial games in Mauritania, where he was dubbed “the Spaniard.” 

Under Marcus Aurelius, gladiatorial games were banned in Rome, but Commodus decided to honor the dead emperor with 150 days of Games. This turns out to be opportune for Maximus as Proximo has to bring gladiators to Rome for the games. In the first game, Proximo’s gladiators fight, they are meant to be the Carthaginians that get brutally defeated by Scipio Africanus’s legions, however with Maximus’s military prowess they defeat the legionnaires. This upset caused the Emperor to come down to the pit and ask Maximus to reveal his identity. Maximus obliges and shocks Commodus. Caesar wants to kill him but he knows he will lose the people’s favor if he does, so he spares Maximus but tries to plot his death. Now with his identity revealed, Maximus is visited by Lucilla who wants him to overthrow the emperor because he is the only person who the people like more. Lucilla has him meet with a Senator who opposes Commodus however they are being tracked and Commodus destroys their plans. The next day Commodus is going to fight Maximus in the arena, but he secretly wounds Maximus. Maximus still is victorious and kills Commodus but dies from the wound he was given before the battle. The rule of Rome is given back to the senators.

Overall the movie was really entertaining and told a great story. Before watching the movie I didn’t really think about sibling relations, especially of ruling families, and how likely incest was. Before Commodus was killed he was going to force his sister to have children with him, which is horrible. This movie also shed light on their medical knowledge and limitations. Maximus received a nasty wound on his arm during his escape and that was healed, but his wound from Commodus was enough to kill him. Overall I highly recommend this movie for a good action movie.

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