Has its moments!

So, it’s back to those Roman times when slaves and gladiators ruled the screens and slaves rebelled, when sword-fencing was in and so ‘Pompeii’ has given the GenNext a chance to witness the old spectacle with oddles of fight sequences to keep the viewer awake only to realize towards the end that it could be too much of a good thing.

In this setting enter, slave/gladiator Milo (Kit Harrington) who’d love to spit on the Romans for butchering his family. But princess Cassia (Emily Browning) takes an instant fancy to the handsome slave who on his white steed swipes her off her feet, though only momentarily.

For Milo has to face the wrath of Roman Senator Corvis (Kiefer Sutherland) who is also vying for her hand in marriage. What follows is the usual tug-of-war and surprisingly enough, director Paul WS Anderson, whose earlier efforts including ‘Resident Evil ‘ does not inspire much confidence, comes off a tad better to keep the pot boiling even though the 105 minute duration seems much, much longer.

Why, it is hard to figure out for both the lead stars Kit Harrington and Emily Browning are equally ordinary as they plod through a thistle-strewn path. Kiefer Sutherland makes a good villain for a change but neither he nor the others, except the black slave who does not figure in the credits, catch the eye.

But the dormant volcano Vesuvius has the last say and Pompeii (remember ‘The Last Days f Pompeii’ starring Steve Reeves?) and history is well captured.

May be the revival of those 1950s classics like ‘Quo Vadis’ and ‘Ben Hur’ give it an edge over the more weighty ‘Monuments Men’. That’s where Einstein’s Law of Relativity” comes in. -EEM