The Ten Reasons Why Pompeii is Awesome (Not Including Kit Harington)
10. The soundtrack. I'm not sure who did the soundtrack for this film but whoever it is did a good job. The music was great and kept the pace of the film moving steadily forward to the climax, which you should all know from the title of the film!
9. The fighting scenes. So, this film includes gladiators, which are totally awesome, and there are a lot of fight scenes leading up to, and in the middle of, the horrific volcano death scenes. And let me tell you. Those fight scenes, were epic.
8. The best death ever (OK, maybe not ever, but still, a pretty legit death). I can't say much without giving you any spoilers, but I can say this: I have never wished for a fictional death more than I did in this movie. And when it happened, it was wonderful. It was exactly what I wanted it to be. And I'm not talking about the multitudes of the dead citizens of Pompeii, killed by the volcano. This character died at the hands of another character and it was awesome.
7. The cheesy lines. Yes, I will admit that there was a small amount of cheesiness in this movie. But what movie doesn't have cheesy lines? You know what, call me a sappy girl, but I love those cheesy lines. Sometimes, and I've found this in my own writing as well, the cheesy lines are the most truthful. These are the lines, the words, that we don't want to admit make us feel something. But guess what. They sort of mean everything.
6. The politics. I know, I know. This is supposed to be a movie about volcanoes and death and Pompeii, but what would all that mean without the politics leading up to it? Nothing. And let me tell you why. Without the politics all you have is a bunch of people running around, trying and failing to escape their ultimate doom. With the politics, you see real life leading up to the running and the screaming and suddenly these people matter. True story.
5. The bromance. OK, so I'll admit, this technically includes Kit Harington, but let me be clear, I would love this no matter what actor was portraying Milo. Anyway, the bromance between fellow gladiators gives us some of the best moments of the movie ever. Again, this is about making the characters important to us so that when the fire and ash start raining down it matters to us, the viewers, that these characters do all they can to get away, even knowing that this disaster will probably claim all their lives. As cliched as bromances are becoming these days, I still think it's a great part of this movie. These two men are brothers, willing to fight and die for each other, always living to a code of honor. Despite their differences, despite their different goals and the different lives they have lived, they respect each other and care enough about each other to call each other "brother". And that's beautiful. That's life.
4. Atticus. The dude is amazing. He's another gladiator in Pompeii. And he's amazing. I can't tell you exactly why, because Spoilers! but let me tell you that not only his he an amazing fighter, he's also a man of honor. The best part about Atticus is, despite his years and years of fighting as a gladiator, despite having his family taken from him, despite all the bad things he's had to deal with, the guy is still the most hopeful character I've ever seen. He never gives up on his goals, never stops to think that he can't accomplish anything he sets out to accomplish. That's commendable.
3. Cassia. She's the love interest of Milo, the daughter of a wealthy and influential Pompeii-an who lives in a super awesome Villa. She's played by Emily Browning. And let me tell you. Cassia is awesome. She's sassy. She doesn't take crap from anyone. And yet, she's still a total girl when it comes to liking a guy. She stares at him when she shouldn't. She gossips with her friend/ladies maid person Ariadne. She gets giddy when he looks at her, comes back for her. I love that she can be all these things because that's realistic. I love that there were times when I wanted to slap her because everyone could see that she was in love with a slave and that was super dangerous.
3a. This is 3a because it relates to Cassia! Her mom is the greatest! Aside from my mom, of course. Aurelia was totally not fooled over her daughter's interest in a mere slave. In fact, she was the biggest supporter ever of it. She totally shipped her daughter and this slave/gladiator and that was awesome. Because usually I see movies where the parents are completely against such a class jumping relationship like that and as much as I like a good scandal, I liked Aurelia's little smirks every time she caught her daughter oggling the slave even more.
2. The kiss. I'll admit, there was some obvious tongue, which can be considered gross. But hey, they earned it. Let them have their moment. And what a moment it was. The backdrop of the lava, the volcano, the burning city of Pompeii was awesome. It's the same picture they use on the poster and there's a reason for that.
1. Mount Vesuvius! This is the best part, in my opinion, of the movie. Throughout the entire film, each scene leads to another shot of the volcano, keeping the focus on the fact that despite the drama between the characters and all the politics and the romance, that volcano is going to erupt. And boy did it erupt. Those were some beautiful scenes of destruction. Props for the graphics team. Also, despite someone's belief that it would only be five minutes of Vesuvius destruction at the very end of the film, that was definitely not the case. It was so epic and so beautiful and lasted for most of the second half of the film. Plus, the ash was definitely cool. It's one of the most intriguing parts of the whole Pompeii discovery, to me, to see all those bodies encased in ash, frozen in time in their last moments of life. It was always the part that I couldn't quite get over, and the film did a great job of letting the ash fall and accumulate throughout the action, so that the characters were already being encased in the ash despite their best efforts to run, to escape. It was a constant reminder of what was happening even when the fire wasn't burning directly in front of our eyes.
Bonus. Kit Harington!!!! I couldn't not put him in here! But he's not part of the ten (ish) reasons why this movie was so awesome. This is just a bonus reason of awesomeness why this movie rocked. I think he's such an amazing actor and he did a wonderful job in his role of Milo. Plus, his opening scene was shirtless. And that's enough to make a great movie if you ask me. But honestly his character was really compelling and he did a good job of portraying Milo.
Anyway, thanks again to Matt and Heroes and Villains for giving me (and my friends) the tickets to see this movie two days before it hits theaters! You guys are the best. And thanks to Malcolm for giving me a reason to write this and update my blog! It was much needed.
And also, this!
