Pompei, ieri, oggi, domani

An Italian TV miniseries chronicling the life and times of Roman citizens in the brief-run up to Mount Vesuvius erupting. This miniseries is bookended by an absolutely pointless modern-day scenario involving a couple of researchers who fall in love and go to bed together. Parallels are drawn between ancient and modern life but seriously, this junk just needed ejecting in order to focus on the historical stuff.

Sadly, TV viewers will have been spoilt by the quality of TV'S ROME which makes POMPEII look like amateur hour by comparison. And, indeed, POMPEII is cheesy indeed; the version I watched has been dubbed into English from the original Italian, dubbed too by the most monotonous and stilted dialogue actors ever. It makes the whole effort a near unwatchable mess, and something impossible to take seriously.

Not that the story is good to begin with. The writers make the error of having their historical characters act in completely modern ways which would have been alien to the times. Thus Christian characters are portrayed ultra-sympathetically as are the female characters. The running time is padded out with boring love stories, ultra-cheesy gladiator scenes, and lots of back and forth stuff. The acting is bad, with the main character a gladiator who looks like a male model off the cover of a Mills & Boon book; wooden isn't the word. The cast is Italian with a couple of familiar faces (like Tomas Arana from THE BOURNE SUPREMACY) mixed in. When the volcano finally erupts in the second episode, the viewer is subjected to many dodgy CGI effects which definitely aren't worth the wait.

This film is hard to review, it is actually a good story and good to watch but unfortunately the actors and acting is poor. The present day part at beginning and end is truly awful with some of the worst acting I have seen in a while and adds no relevance to the film; it should be taken out the film. the main film I liked the characters the story was good. the main hero character was a terrible actor though. The dialogue between the characters border lined on stupidity and bizarre. All in all this would be a good film if it was directed by someone else and replaced half the cast. I would give this film 5/10 which is a shame because it could have been so much better.

In general an entertaining movie, though definitely not great. However a strange feeling of deja vu possessed me when watching. It seemed to me like some story parts have been borrowed from great titles like Spartacus and Ben Hur.

Also to obvious sometimes the city parts (like the arena for example) look a bit fake. The acting is average, sometimes below average. The relationships between slaves and Romans sometimes look a bit unhistorical.

However, the great pictures of the Vesuvius volcano lift things back to a more entertaining level. This movie is nice for an evening of uncomplicated watching. If you don't expect too much, you may appreciate this one.

Decent special effects but poorly acting keeps you safely distant from the drama of Pompei. A far cry from the dense and catching atmosphere from ROME which I can barely wait the second season. a 4 out of 10 in my opinion. I'm a Roman Empire, and general history, fan, so I appreciate the effort to recreate the daily life of Pompei, but the prejudices of the present are a little too obvious. They were thinking and acting differently back then and I was kind of disappointed to see a school concept of history movie - as the producers were very carefully not to leave you draw dangerous ideas and conclusions out of it.

This is a visual treat for anyone who is intrigued with the story of Pompeii. Whether you have been there or not, this is the film that adds the one missing element and brings it back to life, if only for a brief while. The cinematography and special effects are stunning, and an attractive cast infuses an array of characters with color and pathos. Anyone who has ever wondered what it was like to be in this ancient doomed city in the eleventh hour will be captivated by this effort. It manages to be riveting, awe-inspiring and yet maintains a balance between history and storytelling. There have been several films made about the subject, but this one, stripped of contemporary psyche and enriched with topnotch effects, may be the best yet. Much recommended!