Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Micransix Crappy film

Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

wes-connors In the old Roman Empire city of Pompeii, brawny blacksmith Preston Foster (as Marcus) suffers a great family tragedy. Desperate for money, Mr. Foster reluctantly becomes a gladiator; he is uncomfortable killing defeated opponents, but must make a living. Wracked with guilt, Foster adopts pre-teen David Holt (as young Flavius) after killing his father in a fight. Foster can no longer fight competitively and makes money trading slaves and horses. He eventually becomes very prosperous...Foster is unaware he is living during the time of Jesus Christ, who has a following. An old woman instructs Foster to take his son to see the "greatest man" in Judea. Foster considers this to be "prophesy." He crosses paths with Christ, but believes the greatest man is more likely the governor of Jerusalem, Basil Rathbone (as Pontius Pilate). Foster begins working with the notorious leader. After the Christian crucifixion, Foster's son grows up to be John Wood (as Flavius) and clashes with his papa...Other than the ending eruption, "The Last Days of Pompeii" completely re-works the plot (of the original novel by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton). It's a good (perhaps better), Christian-focused revision, though sometimes stodgy in the production. The concept of slavery is changed, which is nice. Original thinking was that the mistreating of slaves was bad; nice people treated them nicely, and bad people treated them badly. Also, Mr. Rathbone's "Pilate" is given more depth in characterization...God, however, is still in firm control of natural disasters.****** The Last Days of Pompeii (10/18/35) Ernest B. Schoedsack ~ Preston Foster, John Wood, Basil Rathbone, David Holt

shark-43 POMPEI is a lot of fun - well made, some good acting and the sets and the special effects are pretty impressive for its time. GLADIATOR has a lot of the same plot points. A man starts to fight for money to save his ill wife. When tragedy ensues, he throws himself into arena fighting and becomes a legend. (Of course, there's a smoking volcano behind them at all times - reminding us that all of this will soon be gone.) There's definitely some cheese in the film - some hokey dialogue, silly costumes, but there are times when the film has some real grit. Willis O'Brien who did all the special effects for the classic KING KONG does the effects here. The destruction of the city has some effective moments and a few stunts that are very well done. Basil Rathbone chews up the scenery as Pontius Pilate and yes, there's even a cameo from the big J.C. himself.

lastliberal If you are a King Kong fan, you will no doubt enjoy this sword and sandals epic about Jesus. Y You will have to, of course, overlook the fact that events happening at the time of Pontius Pilate (Basil Rathbone) could not have occurred near the eruption of Pompeii, but it is, after all, a movie.Rathbone was the definite star in this film. He really put on a great performance as Pilate, one of the most reviled men in history.The rest of the film is what you have seen in Ben Hur, The Robe, and other films on the topic. Certainly not the excessive blood in The Passion of the Christ.Great special effects as Pompeii crumbles.

Chris Gaskin Two years after King Kong, the same team went on to make this enjoyable disaster movie about life in Pompeii and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. It is directed by Kong's Ernest B Schoedsack and the impressive eruption at the end was also done by the same people who did the effects for Kong including Willis O'Brien.The excellent cast includes Preston Foster, Alan Hale, a pre Sherlock Holmes Basil Rathbone and Edward Van Sloan (Dracula, Frankenstein).The Last Days of Pompeii seems to be quite a rare movie and I was pleased when BBC2 screened it several years ago and I still have it on video.Catch this if you are lucky. Enjoyable.Rating: 3 stars out of 5.