Most everyone knows that when the Titanic (1997) sank, many aboard died.  Hence, when you watch the movie of the same name, you can predict much of what is about to happen.  The same could be said for historical films in general, though probably only history nerds like me are going to be unsurprised by the events.  We should have the same attitude with Faith since God is in control of everything, but that is a different story.  Speaking of moments often described as “acts of God,” today we are talking about Pompeii (2014).  Like the previous example, it is a disaster flick, and not to give away the story but everyone dies.  I suppose that last fact makes it somewhat different, but it is the same in that I was just waiting for the inevitable.

Previous to the inevitable destruction of Pompeii, we are shown a bit of the Roman conquest of the British Isles.  It is seventeen years before the fateful eruption of Mount Vesuvius, and the forces of Senator Quintus Attius Corvus (Kiefer Sutherland) are putting down a rebellion.  Forced to watch the slaughter is a young boy named Milo (Dylan Schombing) of the tribe of horse people (whoever that refers to).  With his parents and the rest of his kinsmen dead, he is taken captive by slavers.  Fast forward the aforementioned number of years, and the grownup Milo (Kit Harington) is now a gladiator in the capital Londinium (modern London) without peer.  His talents are noticed by Bellator (Currie Garaham), who sees in Milo a ticket to the center of Roman civilization.  Stop me, by the way, if this plot sounds familiar.  At any rate, it is off to Italy, but instead of going to the Imperial city, Milo and a number of newcomers are taken to the eponymous town.  Along the way, a carriage headed there from Rome hits a hole in the road, which scares one of the pulling steeds.  The drivers are angry, prompting a reaction from one of the occupants, Cassia (Emily Browning).  Another who is disturbed by the scene is Milo, and she sees in him somebody who can help.  Ordering him unchained, he comes over and breaks the animal’s neck, putting it out of its misery.  From there, he goes on to the gladiator pens and she returns to her parent’s villa in the shadow on the soon-to-be volcanically active mountain.  There is a festival going on in the city, which means all types of celebrations, including gladiatorial games.  The event also attracts visitors, and the one that interests Cassia’s mother and father, Aurelia (Carrie-Anne Moss) and Marcus Cassius Severus (Jared Harris) respectively, is Senator Corvus.  Officially, Senator Corvus is there is a representative of the new emperor, but in practice he has come to establish his own authority.  We see this at work when Marcus, as governor of the city, shows Senator Corvus plans for new building projects that the former hopes will receive imperial patronage.  Instead, Senator Corvus says there will be no investment from the emperor, and that he will instead provide the money.  What Marcus is unaware of is that Senator Corvus hopes to use this as leverage for securing Cassia’s hand in marriage.  Cassia and Senator Corvus know one another from Rome, and she does not like him or his slimy politics.  Meanwhile, Milo has been getting settled into the slave quarters.  By “settled,” I mean he has had to endure the others testing him and having to fight.  The one he has to be most concerned about is Pompeii’s champion, Atticus (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje).  With one last contest left until his freedom, Atticus is confident that no one, even the famed “Celt,” will stop him.  The two briefly spar in the arena, but the result is a level of respect for one another.  It is something less than as enemies that they are summoned to the party being held at the villa where Senator Corvus’ machinations are happening.  It is the first time Cassia and Milo have seen each other since the road, and he provides her further inspiration for turning down Senator Corvus’ impudent proposal.  It does little to shake the politician’s resolve, even if the earth is beginning to quake with more frequency.  The tremors are spooking the horses at the villa, and once again Milo is called upon to tend to the beasts.  Once Cassia’s thoroughbred is calm, Milo offers his hand to her and they briefly ride away.  However, they come to their senses and return, with her successfully begging Senator Corvus to spare Milo’s life.  Though Senator Corvus agrees to the proposition, he requests that Bellator make sure that Milo dies in the arena.  The following day, Bellator arranges for Atticus and Milo to be part of a group designed to replicate Senator Corvus’ “victory” in Britannia.  Yet, the slave master notices that things are beginning to fall apart, literally, and decides to make his way to the port.  Meanwhile, in the stadium our two main gladiators, of course, triumph over the small army of men sent against them.  Senator Corvus is about to go thumbs down on them, but Cassia intervenes and gives the opposite gesture.  The dignitary plays to the crowd, but he has Cassia taken back to the villa to be locked there, and then has his loyal henchman, Marcus Proculus (Sasha Roiz), fight Milo.  This is being done as Vesuvius erupts in earnest, and only stops as the earth splits open.  The seats where Senator Corvus, Cassia, and her parents had been sitting is hit by debris.  Underneath, Milo frees everyone and, at Aurelia’s behest, goes to attempt to rescue Cassia.  What follows is a mad dash through the destruction of the title city that ends on the outskirts with Cassia and Milo unable to outrun the pyroclastic flow, dying in each other’s arms.

The fact that Pompeii ends with the two protagonists exchanging a final kiss did not make much sense.  We spend several minutes watching Milo run to the villa, on horseback chase down Cassia who is being taken by Senator Corvus, and then Cassia and Milo riding away from the eruption together, only to give up when they feel like the horse cannot get them away in time.  Given how the characters are built up, I expected them to make it to safety and probably end up back in Britannia.  My distaste for the actual conclusion is not related to my unmet expectations.  Faith has taught me that having such things are a fool’s errand.  The only thing we can concretely look forward to is God’s love and mercy.  Everything else that happens is of little consequence as long as we have faith in Him.  This includes when a volcano erupts and kills thousands of people.  That sounds uncaring, but there is more to such an event than its tragic nature.  It also gives an opportunity to mourn those who suffered, and Matthew 5:4, one of the Beatitudes, says that those who mourn are blessed.  This does not mean that we should look forward to such awfulness, but it can give some meaning.  That may be small comfort to those who passed, but that is not your doing.  The point here is that we have a tendency to look at such happenings in an academic manner.  When so many die in these tragedies, their passing becomes mere numbers on a page.  God does not desire such cold, hard hearts for us.  He wants us to have hearts of wax that can be melted and molded by Him.  While it might appear strange to look at a movie like this as an opportunity to pray for the souls of those fall in these tragedies, it is there for the taking all the same.  After all, God works in everything, and it is all for the good.

Still, “good” is not a word I would use to describe Pompeii.  Despite having to accept the deaths of Cassia and Milo, I continue to wish they had survived.  This would have made the over-the-top dramatization of the eruption a little easier to bear.  In other words, I like happy endings, and this is not one.