Pompeii Summary and Reflection
For my second Acta, I decided to watch the movie Pompeii. The movie revolves around a male slave, Milo, who watches a Roman army led by Corvus massacre his entire Celtic tribe and kill his parents in 62 A.D. After the slaughter, he is captured and becomes a slave. The movie then skips to 17 years later in 79 A.D., where he is shown to be a fearsome gladiator nicknamed “The Celt” living in the Britannia. His master then decides that his talent is wasted in the provinces, and he is transported to Pompeii. Along the way, he meets a nobleman’s daughter, Cassia, and he helps put her horse out of its misery after it is injured. When the Celt arrives at the compound where the other gladiators are being held, he clashes with his peers and develops a rivalry with the most respected fighter there. He is then told that he would be fighting that gladiator in the arena.
Meanwhile, a Roman senator (Corvus) has come to Pompeii interested in investing in the city and courting Cassia. The Celt realizes that the senator is the man who killed his parents, and runs away with Cassia on a horse. They are caught, and The Celt is punished with lashes and ordered to enter the arena where he and a group of five gladiators will face many Roman soldiers. It is a very one-sided battle and the Celt was supposed to die, but he ends up surviving. Corvus is about to order his death, but Cassia stops him. Just then, the volcano erupts. Corvus is angry and kills the nobleman and his wife and imprisons Cassia in her villa. The Celt then escapes and frees her as the arena is destroyed by the eruption. A tsunami caused by fireballs plunging into the ocean then causes further chaos in the city, and at the same time, the senator captures Cassia a second time and flees on a chariot. The Celt chases them on a horse, and then defeats the senator in a fight and chains him to a chariot where he would die from the eruption. The Celt and Cassia begin to run away, but the horse throws them off and they kiss before being overtaken by ash from the volcano.
The visual effects of Pompeii were outstanding – the eruption, the tsunami, and the battles were all very realistic. The plot and conflict was also extremely captivating; the writers did a great job providing a thrilling love/revenge story while also ensuring that the movie stayed true to its historical roots. I particularly enjoyed the movie’s use of a real Celtic rebellion as a motivator for the main character, as well as the excellent portrayal of Roman power structures and opinions, such as the senator’s disdain for the provinces as well as the governor’s sycophantic behavior toward Corvus. Overall, Pompeii was a great movie, and I thoroughly enjoyed watching it.
