December 4th, 2013 
James Shotwell 
When not taking Scrooge McDuck-like swims in his vault of gold coins earned from producing the Resident Evil film franchise, Paul W.S. Anderson likes to make films that either have a high body count or, at the very least, gratuitous levels of violence. His latest producing credit, Pompeii, promises both.
Set in 79 A.D., Pompeii uses one of history’s most notable volcanic incidents as the backdrop for a story about falling in love at the absolute worst time possible. Milo, a slave turned invincible 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. The trailer, which you can view at the end of this post, showcases all of this through narration and destruction porn.
To me, Pompeii looks like the result of a meeting between executives who loved 300, but thought it needed more of a 2012 edge without the cost of hiring Zack Snyder or Roland Emmerich. Do you agree? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts.
Pompeii explodes into US theaters on February 21, 2014. Expect additional promotional clips to surface in the weeks ahead.
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I hate to shock you, but Pompeii was a REAL PLACE, and everyone there died from a volcanic eruption. So wanton destruction and violence is not that “gratuitous.” Frankly, it would be more worrying if it DIDN’T have destruction and violence.