Pompeii(2014):The Predictable and Unrealistic Story of a Gladiator in Pompeii
Pompeii follows gladiator Milo in Pompeii before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. The movie opens with a brutal slaughter of Milo’s parents by Senator Corvus’ troops when he was a kid. Years later, he is sold to fight in Pompeii. On his way, he encounters Cassia, who thanks him for putting a fallen horse out of misery. In Pompeii, Milo meets Atticus, a fellow gladiator, and after initial hostility, the two eventually become allies. The gladiators are shown at a dinner party attended by Cassia and her family. Milo sees Cassia again but they are unable to talk until Milo calms Cassia’s horse after rumbles from Vesuvius frightens it. The pair take a ride in the countryside but encounter Roman soldiers, who bring the pair back to Pompeii. Throughout the movie, the pair deal with the corrupt Senator Corvus, who aims to kill Milo and marry Cassia against her will. During a gladiator fight, Corvus nearly issues a kill order on Milo and Atticus, but Cassia prevents their death and is locked in a room. After this fight, the arena begins to crumble as Vesuvius erupts. While most people attempt to escape, Atticus and Milo rush to free Cassia. Atticus later kills Proculus, the second in command of Corvus and is killed by the eruption. Milo and Cassia flee, but realizing their futile attempt, dismount their horse and kiss as they are smothered in ash.
Overall, I found the movie a bit predictable and overdramatized. As someone who does not enjoy violent movies, I did not like the vividness of the stabbings. Multiple times I turned away as people’s heads were cut off or they were stabbed in the abdomen. I liked how the characters did not like the Romans, as it was a different perspective than we look at in class. While we focus on the splendor of Rome’s military conquests, we tend to ignore the people who were killed for and resent Rome. While I thought Milo and Cassia’s connection was superficial and unrealistic, I liked the relationship between Milo and Atticus. Milo has become unemotional out of necessity. His initial hostility towards Atticus is warranted, as it is Milo’s nature to refuse connections with those he will kill. The relationship between these two appears to be the only major substantial relationship in the film.
My roommate, who also watched the movie, did not mind the violent scenes. She found that although there were obvious historical inaccuracies and the love plot seemed unrealistic, it did add a humane aspect to the mass death. She later questioned if there actually were people found kissing after being buried, as portrayed in the movie. She is now researching Pompeii videos on Youtube to find out.
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