79 A.D.: THE DESTRUCTION OF HERCULANEUM is a stock peplum epic of the early 1960s, based around the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and the destruction of the city of Herculaneum - the lesser-known disaster site compared to Pompeii, which remains popular in the public consciousness. I was very much looking forward to this film, having previously enjoyed the Steve Reeves epic THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII, but the bad news is that this disjointed production is more of a court intrigue flick than an action epic.
At least 90% of the running time is taken up with the machinations at the Roman court and the plotting between various sides. There are some tacked-on action sequences littered throughout but they fail to ignite the senses as in the best of the genre and they're relatively brief. Reliable muscleman Brad Harris has a great role as the hero of the piece, but viewers helping for a ton of destructive mayhem will be disappointed to find that the destruction of the city only occurs in the last five minutes of the production.
At least 90% of the running time is taken up with the machinations at the Roman court and the plotting between various sides. There are some tacked-on action sequences littered throughout but they fail to ignite the senses as in the best of the genre and they're relatively brief. Reliable muscleman Brad Harris has a great role as the hero of the piece, but viewers helping for a ton of destructive mayhem will be disappointed to find that the destruction of the city only occurs in the last five minutes of the production.