hesketh27

I do remember not liking this film when it was first released, but 17 years dulls the memory somewhat & I decided to watch it again. I dislike it even more on second viewing. It opens with a cartoonish comedy atmosphere and an array of British character actors seemingly playing it for laughs. The performances range from good to dreadful with most being somewhere in the middle. As it progresses, it gradually becomes darker until it descends into the most depressing tone imaginable. It's liberally littered with expletives for no apparent reason. It's not possible to connect with the central character because he's so thoroughly objectionable & there's no backstory to show how or why he became this way. The shouting & histrionics soon become very tedious. The switches between broad comedy & serious drama are unsettling & just don't work. It's basically a mess from start to finish. The only reason it's got two stars from me is because the period details are well done. I've now wasted 4 hours of my life on this. Sincerely wish I'd left it, not revisited and cut my losses at 2....

So in "Pompeii" we have a "swords & sandals" meets "disaster" movie. There's a plucky little hero who can seemingly overcome any odds & a feisty yet still vulnerable heroine who doesn't need to mimic a man to show strength of character (Hooray, Cheer!) Then there's the wicked pantomime villain played by scenery chewing Kiefer Sutherland (Boo, Hiss!) Throw in lots of fighting, explosions & general destruction (great effects btw) and what do we end up with? Well I just switched off my brain & it worked because I really enjoyed it! It's not claiming to be great art or a historical documentary, ok - some of the acting is a bit shaky too, but why all the analysis & criticism? For goodness sake it's a popcorn movie. We know we've seen it all before but that doesn't make it any the less entertaining. Please sit back, enjoy the ride & accept it for what it is. The hopelessly romantic final scene even brought a lump to this old cynic's throat! It's a fast paced adventure that can be enjoyed by everyone who's willing to view it as the fiction that it is.

When somebody writes reviews saying that a film is "slow" or "boring" I usually tend to dismiss them as being from people who prefer action pictures and have simply watched the wrong movie for them personally. On this occasion I have to agree, certainly that this is a very (and I mean very very) slow film. Unfortunately, so slow that it fails to build tension. It's a good premise that demons could use humans to commit their evil and there are a couple of genuinely chilling moments in the film. So chilling that I had to let my dog into the yard half way through and a sudden unexpected noise in the dark made me jump out of my skin. There was so much scary potential there. The cast is good as would be expected, but I can't help wonder if Denzel Washington is miscast. His "cool" laid back attitude doesn't convince. Here's a guy menaced by Satan's agents on Earth, but he doesn't seem to show the slightest fear or break into a sweat. Come on - even the bravest man would start to crumble. Seeing a quick flash of the demon inside on the face of it's hosts would have made the film far more frightening (an effect used very well in "The Exorcist"). All in all, it's an OK film but it somehow misfires. I can't put my finger on why.

By all means see it, it has it's merits, sadly not enough to make the 2 hour runtime (was it really only 2 hours??) worthwhile for me. My partner has a habit of saying "that was good" at the end of most pictures we watch. There was no comment at the end of this.