Pompeii(2014)

Plot Summary

• The film opens with scenes of the bodies of victims of Pompeii as quotes on the destruction are made. In Britannia, 62 AD, a tribe of Celtic horsemen are brutally wiped out by Romans led by Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland). The only survivor is a boy named Milo (Dylan Schombing), whose mother Corvus killed personally. The boy is captured by slave traders. Seventeen years later, a slave owner named Graecus (Joe Pingue) watches a class of gladiators' battle. He is unimpressed until he sees the grown Milo (Kit Harington), a talented gladiator the crowds call "the Celt." Milo is soon brought to Pompeii with his fellow slaves.On the road, they see a horse fall while leading a carriage carrying Cassia (Emily Browning) and her servant Ariadne (Jessica Lucas). Milo kills the horse to end its suffering and Cassia is drawn to him. Cassia is the daughter of the city ruler Severus (Jared Harris) and his wife Aurelia (Carrie-Anne Moss), happy to have her back after a year in Rome. Severus is hoping to have the new Emperor Titus invest in plans to rebuild Pompeii, but Cassia warns him of Rome becoming more corrupt. A servant named Felix (Dalmar Abuzeid) takes Cassia's horse for a ride only to be swallowed up when a quake from Mount Vesuvius opens up the Earth under him.At the gladiator arena, Milo soon has a rivalry with Atticus (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), a champion gladiator who by Roman law will be given his freedom after he attains one more victory. The gladiators are shown off at a party where Corvus (now a Senator) tells Severus the Emperor will not invest in his plans, but Corvus will. It turns out Cassia left Rome to escape Corvus' advances. When an earthquake causes horses to become excited, Milo helps calm one down. He then takes Cassia on a ride, telling her that they cannot be together. Returning to the villa, Corvus is ready to kill Milo (not recognizing him from the village massacre) but Cassia pleads for his life. Milo is lashed for his actions and Atticus admits respect for the man as they prepare to face each other at the upcoming festival.In the Amphitheatre of Pompeii, to punish Milo, Corvus orders him killed in the first battle and wicked trainer Bellator (Currie Graham) convinces Graecus to sacrifice Atticus as well. The two men, and other gladiators, are chained to rocks as other gladiators come out as Roman soldiers, to recreate Corvus' "glorious victory" over the Celts. Working together, Milo and Atticus survive the battle, Atticus realizing the Romans will never honor his freedom. During the battle, Corvus forces Cassia to agree to marry him by threatening to have her family killed for supposed treason against the Emperor. When Milo and Atticus win, Cassia defies Corvus by holding a "thumbs-up" for them to live and he has her taken to the villa to be locked up.Claiming an earthquake is a sign from Vulcan, Corvus has his officer Proculus (Sasha Roiz) fight Milo one-on-one. Their battle is interrupted when Mount Vesuvius erupts, creating quakes that cause the arena to collapse, sending Milo and Proculus crashing to the jail levels. Milo opens up the gates to allow his fellow gladiators a chance to attack, Proculus escaping while the gladiators kill Bellator. Seeing Corvus fallen under a collapsed beam, Severus tries to kill him, but is stabbed by Corvus who escapes.The volcano unleashes balls of fire across the city as the populace tries to flee to the harbor. One fireball destroys a ship killing the escaping Graecus. Aurelia tells Milo that Cassia is at the villa before dying. Milo races to the villa and manages to save Cassia, but Ariadne is killed when the villa collapses into the sea. Corvus and Proculus kill civilians blocking their path to safety. Atticus tries to reach the harbor, but a tsunami created by the volcano smashes into the city, destroying the outer walls and smashing apart ships, Atticus barely rescues a girl and her mother from the tidal wave. Reuniting with Atticus, Milo suggests searching the arena for horses to escape to the south. As the gladiators face Roman soldiers at the arena, Cassia sees to the bodies of her parents, only to be abducted by Corvus. Atticus has Milo chase after the chariot carrying the two while he faces off against Proculus. The Roman manages to mortally wound Atticus, but the gladiator rises up to break the blade and use it to kill the soldier.Milo chases Corvus across the city, both barely avoiding balls of fire and collapsing roads and buildings. Cassia manages to free herself before the chariot crashes into the Temple of Apollo. Milo and Corvus battle it out in a duel as a fireball destroys the temple. Cassia chains Corvus to a building as Milo declares that his gods are coming to punish the Senator. Milo and Cassia ride off as a Pyroclastic surge race down the mountain and into the city, incinerating Corvus. At the arena, Atticus proudly meets his fate proclaiming that he dies a free man. At the city outskirts, the horse throws off Milo and Cassia. Milo tells Cassia to leave on her own. Instead, she sends the horse off, not wanting to spend her last few moments running. She and Milo passionately kiss as the Pyroclastic flow engulfs them. The last shot is of the duo's bodies, now plaster casts, locked in an eternal embrace.

Storyline

• Set in 79 A.D., POMPEII tells the epic story of Milo (Kit Harington), a slave turned invincible gladiator who finds himself in a race against time to save his true love Cassia (Emily Browning), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant who has been unwillingly betrothed to a corrupt Roman Senator. As Mount Vesuvius erupts in a torrent of blazing lava, Milo must fight his way out of the arena in order to save his beloved as the once magnificent Pompeii crumbles around him. — Sony Pictures Entertainment In 79 A.D., a Celtic tribe of horsemen is slaughtered by the Roman Senator Corvus, his right-hand man Proculus and their army. The boy Milo is the only survivor that is captured later and sold as slave. Seventeen years later, the slave Milo turns into an invincible gladiator in a province and is brought to Pompeii to participate in the games in the arena. While walking to Pompeii, the noble Cassia and her chaperone Ariadne cross with the path of the slaves and Cassia is fascinated by Milo. He shares the cell of Atticus, who is near to get his freedom depending on winning his last fight. Meanwhile Cassia meets her parents Severus and Aurelia and learns that she has been betrothed to the corrupt Senator Corvus who is pressing her parents to marry her. During the games, the Mount Vesuvius erupts and Milos and his friend Atticus succeed to escape from the arena. But Milo wants to save his beloved Cassia in the middle of the chaos and the Romans. — Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil In the menacing shadow of 79 A.D. Pompeii's Mount Vesuvius, the orphaned and left-for-dead boy-turned-gladiator, Milo, must fight for his life in the bustling port city's blood-stained arena. Before long, the untamed former slave catches the eye of the city governor Severus' beautiful daughter, Cassia, and much to his surprise, an ardent but perilous romantic affair beyond social classes begins. Now, against the backdrop of an imminent catastrophic volcanic eruption, and the corrupt Roman Senator Corvus' unappeased wrath, the young couple must seek a way out, as rivers of sluggish hot lava and a rain of heavy black ash threaten to devour the small town. Can Milo put aside his wild desire for retribution for Cassias' sake? — Nick Riganas 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. — FilmsNow