In 79 A.D., Milo, a slave turned gladiator, finds himself in a race against time to save his true love Cassia, 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.
Parmageddon is nigh in this cheesy action melodrama that feels both overheated with plot developments, yet strangely curdled from a lack of histrionics that might have redeemed it as fun trash.
– Joshua Rothkopf,
Time Out New York,
21 Feb 2014
rotten:
Narrative has never been Anderson's strength; the story here is a corny overhaul of James Cameron's already-corny Titanic.
– Drew Hunt,
Chicago Reader,
21 Feb 2014
rotten:
No matter how much lava is afoot, there's always time to impale one more person with a sword.
– Wesley Morris,
Grantland,
21 Feb 2014
rotten:
A mindless but watchable fondue pot of high-calorie visuals and ready-made plotting ...