‘Pompeii’ didn’t really need the FX to impress

When movie producers tackle a historic subject, often their biggest issue is how to make a film as epic as can be without losing the plot, figuratively and literally. Getting bums on seats and blowing audiences away is more difficult to do than it sounds. Easier to do with commercial blockbusters of a fantastical nature (think ‘Toy Story’, ‘Star Wars’, ‘Transformers’) but more of a challenge when it comes to factual – even mythical – subject matter (think how OTT the recent filmic rendition of ‘Noah’ came across).

Paul W. S. Anderson’s ‘Pompeii’ falls into the same tricky category. To test it, I watched the DVD with my father – a huge fan of this brand of epic movie (or at least a fan of the old kind that would feature the likes of Charlton Heston and Elizabeth Taylor).

So my Dad and I are sitting there watching the opening sequence, where we’re immediately subjected to seeing bodies covered in volcanic lava, and realise this flick is about cutting to the chase; not beating about the bush. Indeed most scenes do get right to the point, and the storylines stay true to what we’ve read in the history books about the destruction of Pompeii, but – and I quote my broken-English-speaking father here – “there is too much bluff” going on when it comes its saturation of special effects.

Agreed. In a film so rich in drama and disaster, and packed with strong vivid characters (Milo, Cassis, Corvus), it wasn’t necessary or wise to overdo it with the FX. Indeed, these only take away from the film’s otherwise potent plot and historical bookmarking.

Still, if you like the out-there graphical nature of modern texts like ‘Game Of Thrones’, you’ll get a blast out of ‘Pompeii’.  Antonino Tati

‘Pompeii’ is available on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital through Icon Home Entertainment.