MovieChat Forums > Pompeii (2014) Discussion > Utterly Ridiculous. Spoilers!

Utterly Ridiculous. Spoilers!

posted 10 years ago by Gabe1972
19 replies | jump to latest

The filmmakers spent so much time on the realism of the eruption that they forgot just about everything else.

Sure, anyone can snap a horse's neck like a chicken leg. I literally laughed out loud at this one.

And yes, it's widely known that while natural disasters are occurring, it is very important to people to confront their enemies and air out their grievances before they die. Yes, this happens all the time.

I think my favorite is the very end shot. Sure, everyone knows that museums are full of concrete casts of people that died during the eruption while standing up in various poses. REALLY?

This movie is just full of ridiculousness. I know that we are supposed to suspend our disbelief while watching a film, but when a film is simply too unbelievable, that's a bit hard.

I can see why it wasn't looked on favorably by the critics.

I feel sorry for Kit Harington in that his first mainstream (Well, unless you count Silent Stupidness 3D) starring role had to be in a piece of garbage like this. He's enjoyable in Game of Thrones. Yes, there are some complete impossibilities in GOT, as well, but at least it's wholly enjoyable.

The plural of mouse is mice. The plural of goose is geese. Why is the plural of moose not meese?

[–] nurst 10 years ago

The eruption wasn't even historically accurate.

Also love how Milo was somehow a horse expert even though his entire "horse lords" tribe were slaughtered when he was like four.

[–] Gabe1972 10 years ago

I just meant trying to make the smoke and debris look photorealistic. So often CG is a joke, and they spent way too much time worrying about the realism of the effects that they forgot to worry about the rest of the film.

And I can't remember for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if they tried to put forth the idea that the shapes of people that were buried are actually the real petrified people, and not simply a plaster or concrete mold of the cavity of where they were when they died. A lot of people actually think this.

Perhaps Milo was a demigod. LOL.

This movie was just really BAD.

The plural of mouse is mice. The plural of goose is geese. Why is the plural of moose not meese?

[–] georgegliddy 10 years ago

well ok sir or mam......well pls do NOT say such word of h8 4 this movei ok bcos may be a lots of peeps wud like it??????

[–] Gabe1972 10 years ago

I guess, from the question marks, that's supposed to be a question, though I can't answer it, because I can't decipher what you are asking.

"Well, the world needs ditch diggers, too."

[–] georgegliddy 10 years ago

well????? well ur pix is 2 scarey ok.......

[–] Gabe1972 10 years ago

Just a word to the...possibly wise (though probably not): change your name. For someone to use Liddy's name when they can't even form a coherent thought is a travesty.

Also, I think TLC, or the like, might be starting a new reality show tonight. It's most likely perfect for you. You'll be rapt.

"Well, the world needs ditch diggers, too."

[–] georgegliddy 10 years ago

well i like such realty show so ok........... well i wud nvr changed my name bcos such is my name so i have it 2 b

[–] kascha-klaussen 10 years ago

I think my favorite is the very end shot. Sure, everyone knows that museums are full of concrete casts of people that died during the eruption while standing up in various poses. REALLY?

Ummm, is it that hard to believe that people who were standing up when they were flash mummified may have fallen over and then (wait for it)

- stood back up at the exhibit after plaster casting because it was fairly obvious they'd been standing when they died??

Or should kneeling dude here and the kid who's clearly upright be knocked back over?

http://www.vroma.org/images/jwalker_images/jw-80.jpg
http://museumspoliticsandpower.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Guillotine_Abbildung-3.jpg

[–] Gabe1972 10 years ago

Kneeling is one thing. A child being held upon it's mother's torso after something has collapsed around it is not implausible. People standing completely upright is. The second they were hit by ash. or even the pyroclastic flow, they would have been knocked over. So yes, it is that hard to believe. I haven't seen the film in a while, but if I remember correctly, the people standing up in the end were actually standing up, supposedly frozen in that exact second. You aren't going to be flash mummified and turned into something immovable in the exact shape of you standing up, then fall over, while still in the exact, upright stance, decompose, and create the hole that is then filled with the plaster. It's not happening, and didn't happen like that. That's nothing but movie nonsense.

"Welcome to Costco. I love you."

[–] slinkyfrog08641 9 years ago

I agree with Gabe. I couldn't even believe that they made the audience think that, that the kissing couple froze like that, and were mummified within the blast. One, considering the force and weight of the blast, they should have been knocked off their feet. Two, the mummified bodies people see today of the victims, are made from plaster that was poured down the open pockets left by the decaying bodies of the victims within the volcanic rock and mud that covered them. The plaster was poured down by more modern day archaeologists.

[–] kenjiros14 9 years ago

If the pyroclastic flow happened as depicted in this awful movie, we wouldn't have ever known about Pompeii so this movie would have never been made in the first place! The fact that the real Pompeii still had structures intact means the pyroclastic flow wasn't strong enough to knock down buildings.

[–] Gabe1972 9 years ago

That, too. Although pyroclastic flows most certainly occurred, they surely didn't happen as depicted in the film, as in covering the entire city.

If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. - George W. Bush

[–] Tsavo 9 years ago

Uhh, what?

"Aw Crap!" - Hellboy

[–] Gabe1972 9 years ago

Just what I said. The pyroclastic flows did not cover the entire city. What covered the entire city was ash raining down, not pyroclastic flows. Said flows do much different kind of damage than was done in the vast majority of the city.

Most of the buildings in the city remained in place, in that when the ash got thick enough and heavy enough, they just collapsed in the place they were. Pyroclastic flows are powerful enough to displace pretty much any structures in their path. That's not what happened in the majority of the city.

If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. - George W. Bush

[–] Tsavo 9 years ago

Actually, they did. Though the Ash and Tephra fall contributed to the burying of the city, and Surge 4, while stopping just outside of the city is currently considered responsible for killing those not killed from other factors from the resultant heat shock, later flows did indeed cover the city. Pyroclastic flows and Surges are devastating, but if you are further away from the point of origin, damage is reduced.

"From a phylogenetic perspective, we are all fish!"

[–] Gabe1972 9 years ago

Right, but after the fact. After the people were killed that we are talking about. After they were buried, which is why many of the buildings were still standing. Had the flows been the primary destroying/burying factor, the buildings would have been gone, for the most part.

What we see in the film isn't realistic, but then again, it's a Hollywood film. You can't have the two leads die the way they actually would die. It wouldn't be romantic. LOL.

I just threw up a little in my mouth.

[–] Tsavo 9 years ago

Ah! Well they probably would have been killed by the later flows if they had managed to survive the fourth, so I still disagree in regard to the buildings, as they would have been destroyed either way by the later flows, but at this point I think we agree more than we don't. I really do think the film was a wasted opportunity, though some of the CGI was nice at moments. To date my favorite film involving a volcano is "Krakatoa: The Last Days" (if you haven't seen it, I strongly recommend it. I was fortunately enough to find a Dutch extended version (not a lot is added, just a few extra scene, but they help round out the film).

"From a phylogenetic perspective, we are all fish!"

[–] pavel-959-574618 9 years ago

Even if I was going to suspend disbelief to the point I'll accept they were instantly heat-dried in place while their bodies remained standing up... how do you explain her hair retaining its perfect flowing shape?

The actual casts of Pompeii victims today in museums all have round heads, because hair doesn't exactly freezes when you are hit by wave burning gas.

[–] Gabe1972 9 years ago

The movie couple must have used a lot of "Soul Glo" and it protected their coifs. LMAO!

If we don't succeed, we run the risk of failure. - George W. Bush