Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2014

Paul W.S. Anderson, who is criminally responsible for that Resident Evil noise as well as the worst Three Musketeers movie ever made, now tries to breed Gladiator with Titanic by way of The Horse Whisperer to tell of the 79 A.D. eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. This inept bit of disaster porn wades through 90 minutes of extremely lame sword & sandals silliness before the big blow. I actually welcomed the long-awaited eruption because it meant the end was near. Of the movie. Horrid script full of one-dimensional characters played by a cast that includes Kiefer Sutherland, who should know better. Waste of lava. (105 min)