Delivers the goods as a quality sword & sandal/disaster flick

The tone is akin to "Gladiator" but with pretty-boy Kit Harington rather than seasoned he-man Crowe. Of course the other big difference is that this is part disaster flick; and it delivers spectacularly on this front in the final act. It has a more compelling story and better characters, cartoony though they may be. "Gladiator" took the more low-key route, but I always found it semi-boring, although I still like it (not love it).

Emily Browning shines as the princess while Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje practically steals the show. Some may scoff at the ending as unrealistic, but it likely happened in some cases. After all, if you KNOW you're doomed anyway why not? I found it almost profound. The friendship that develops between two of the characters is similarly well-done.

It isn't overlong at 105 minutes and was shot at Cinespace Film Studios, Toronto, with exteriors done at Pompeii, Naples, Campania, Italy. The movie cost a whopping $80 million and 'only' made back $118 million worldwide, with $23 million taken in the USA. As such, it was considered a flop. But it's NOT a failure as a sword & sandal flick and stands well with similar films like "Troy."