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Pompeii

Play trailer Poster for Pompeii PG-13 2014 1h 45m Adventure Action History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
27% Tomatometer 166 Reviews 34% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
In 79 A.D., Pompeii, a bustling port city, stands in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Milo (Kit Harington), a former slave, is a gladiator who has caught the eye of Cassia (Emily Browning), a wealthy merchant's daughter. However, their difference in social status is not the only obstacle to their love; Cassia has been promised to Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland), a corrupt Roman senator. When the eruption of Mount Vesuvius rains lava and ash down on the city, Milo races to save her before it's too late.

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Pompeii

Pompeii

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Critics Consensus

This big-budget sword-and-sandal adventure lacks the energy and storytelling heft to amount to more than a guilty pleasure.

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Critics Reviews

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Kate Muir The Times (UK) 06/02/2015
2/5
Pompeii 3D is a swords-and-sandals disaster epic that contains all the B-movie tropes you might hope for... The only element missing is a decent script. Go to Full Review
Chris Stuckmann ChrisStuckmann.com 04/23/2015
D-
Hammy performances, poor editing, straight-to-DVD special effects, and bland direction. Go to Full Review
Larushka Ivan-Zadeh metro.co.uk 05/13/2014
3/5
It's entertainingly silly stuff with an 'oh, no - they wouldn't?' finale of the ooziest toasted cheese. Go to Full Review
Joshua Polanski Midwest Film Journal 03/03/2025
One of the greatest cinematic achievements of the 21st century. Go to Full Review
Iván Kazi EscribiendoCine 12/07/2022
5/10
A disaster movie with romantic appeal, with tragedy, like Titanic (1997), but more Balkan and action-oriented. Oh. And there's a gladiators sub-plot... [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies 08/24/2022
2/5
Its blunders are aplenty and it’s impossible to take anything the film does seriously. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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David H. @rivrocks 1d Jessica Lucas shines as always. Decent action. Decent effects. Generic plot. No soul. Jessica Lucas, though. See more Blake- N @PBSAniDom 4d Pompeii feels like a step down from what it could have been, especially after its theatrical release in 2014. It has the scale and the setting to be memorable, but the film never fully lives up to that potential. The story moves in familiar directions, the characters are not as engaging as they should be, and the emotional impact is weaker than expected. There are moments where the film looks impressive and shows flashes of ambition, but style alone is not enough to carry it. For me, it ends up feeling underdeveloped and a bit forgettable compared with stronger historical action dramas. It is not without entertainment value, but it never rises above being just average. Overall, I found it disappointing and a clear step down from what the premise promised. I rate it a 4/10. See more Buddy W @BuddyW Feb 8 SPOILERS: Stupid stupid stupid movie that makes you spend a VERY long time hoping for the main couple to fight for each other and fall in love and find their way back to each other only have them both die. And for more complete believability, as they die my molten lava they just hold each other and kiss - because they certainly wouldn't be screaming in agony. Stupid. Beyond that there are just a lot of improbabilities (the hero always gets out of a deadly situation at the last possible moment) which one can get behind in a busy action movie, but again that middle finger the ending gives to the audience ruins anything positive that came before it. Stupid. See more Big D @Drazker Feb 1 Jon snow! Kit Harrington! Whatever your name is, you've done it again. 4/5 See more ryan b @RT37740700 Jan 2 It is basically a rip off of Gladiator, not as well done either. Done have a little charm but honestly it is almost a complete Gladiator wanna-be movie. Acting is bland as well but still worth a watch. See more jimmy s @Jimmy710 Dec 10 I love the movie they created a story line out of nothing it wasn't titanic disaster story line but at least I have a better understanding of the Pompeii disaster and the people that perish so it did what is supposed to do entertain me so bravo for the entertainment 👏. See more Read all reviews
Pompeii

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Movie Info

Synopsis In 79 A.D., Pompeii, a bustling port city, stands in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius. Milo (Kit Harington), a former slave, is a gladiator who has caught the eye of Cassia (Emily Browning), a wealthy merchant's daughter. However, their difference in social status is not the only obstacle to their love; Cassia has been promised to Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland), a corrupt Roman senator. When the eruption of Mount Vesuvius rains lava and ash down on the city, Milo races to save her before it's too late.
Director
Paul W.S. Anderson
Producer
Jeremy Bolt, Paul W.S. Anderson, Robert Kulzer, Don Carmody
Screenwriter
Janet Scott Batchler, Lee Batchler, Michael Robert Johnson
Distributor
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co
Constantin Film, Impact Pictures
Rating
PG-13 (Disaster-Related Action|Brief Sexual Content|Intense Battle Sequences)
Genre
Adventure, Action, History, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 21, 2014, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
May 13, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$23.2M
Runtime
1h 45m
Sound Mix
Datasat, SDDS, Dolby Digital