Pompeii

I recently watched a movie called Pompeii, it obviously featured the ancient city of Pompeii being destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, however along with that historic event, it was mostly a fictional movie. It began in Europe with a battle between the Romans and a Celtic tribe. The Romans defeated the Celts in the battle, and a young Celtic boy survived the assault but was later captured and ended up in Rome as a gladiator. He was able to kill three gladiators by himself, and before long he was sent to a city on an island called Pompeii, and on the journey there he met a wealthy Roman girl who he immediately fell in love with. Once they arrived at the city he went to an arena to fight as a gladiator, as he had done in Rome, and there he met another gladiator who was housed in the same cell as he was. While the Celt was training to fight, the Roman girl that he loved was enjoying the city, her father worked on building projects in the city, one example was a new arena. A Roman general who also had his eyes on the young girl, purposed to her and did not give the option to say no. One night the young girl’s horse was startled by the ground shaking, which frequently occurred because of the volcano, and the girl called on the Celt to help because he was experienced with horses, unfortunately, after he calmed the horse down the girl and the Celt rode off together resulting in the Celt receiving 15 lashes, which was light because he would have been killed had the woman not pleaded for mercy. The next day there was an important gladiator fight in which they would reenact the battle between the Romans and the Celts, which was a common thing that the Romans would do in fights like this. The battle did not go exactly how the general expected, because the Celt and the other gladiators actually won. The young woman and her parents had been watching the fight with the general but after the gladiators won the general had her sent away because he was angry with her, and right in the middle of the commotion, Mount Vesuvius erupted and the ground shook and the arena caved in, killing many. The woman’s parents were seriously injured, but as the father was crawling through the rubble toward the general who was laying still, he had in mind to kill him, because he had hated him, but as he was about to stab him with a sword, the general fought back and killed the father and left the mother for dead. Meanwhile the Celt and his gladiator friend escaped and the Celt went to get the young woman while his friend went to the crowded harbor to find a boat they could escape in, however, a title wave hit the harbor and began to flood the city, many people managed to escape the flood including the Celts friend, so they met again and decided to escape by land. They went to the arena to get some horses but as the two men looked around inside the general took the woman to his chariot and rode away. Instantly the Celt got on a horse to pursue him leaving his friend to fight a Roman warrior who was there with the general, and as they fought the Roman eventually stabs him in the chest, but before he dies the gladiator kills the Roman by puncturing his gullet with the jagged edge of a broken sword, but then a wall of ash and fire from the eruption consumes them both. Meanwhile, the Celt chased after the chariot and before long it crashed and the Celt fought the general, but even though he won the fight, instead of killing him he leaves him to be burned by the fast moving ash cloud. Even though the Celt and the girl escaped from the city, as they rode through the county they were bucked off their horse and enveloped by the ash cloud. 

The movie was certainly entertaining and enjoyable, but as far as portraying the real story, it was not the best. In reality Mount Vesuvius destroyed the depraved city of Pompeii in a matter of seconds, it was so hot that the people and animals were preserved in the exact form that they died in.