Pompeii

Rated PG-13 / 1 hr 38 min / Action - Adventure - Drama

What is it about?

This is the story of a young boy who grew up as part of a horse tribe in Britain. They rebel against Rome, and are mercilessly crushed.  The boy is the only survivor. He is later found and raised as a slave. Fast forward several years, and the boy has grown into a gladiator known as "The Celt". He gets noticed by a man of means who brings him to Pompeii to fight. No one there seems to care that the giant volcano is making the ground shake every 5 minutes.  That will change soon.

You will like it if...

 You like movies with pretty special effects, but don't have much else that is special about them.  This movie surprised me because I was expecting it to be all kinds of terrible from watching the previews. It's actually entertaining in the same way Gravity is, and it tries to be a mix between Gladiator and 2012. The story is rather average, but they string it along in a believable way. The acting is average even though Kiefer tries.  His subordinate Sasha Rios does a great job of looking menacing, but isn't given a chance to do much else. The special effects are fantastic except for a few spots where you can see cropping lines in the flames. Most people won't notice, but I've had to use the smudge tool enough to smooth out those rough edges to see it.  I would
wait for Redbox, but if you like the spectacle then you may enjoy seeing this on the big screen.