[Movie Review] Hercules (2014)
Plot Summary: Having endured his legendary twelve labors, Hercules, the Greek demigod, has his life as a sword-for-hire tested when the King of Thrace and his daughter seek his aid in defeating a tyrannical warlord.
Director: Brett Ratner
Writers: Ryan Condal (screenplay), Evan Spiliotopoulous (screenplay), Steve Moore (Radical comic "Hercules")
Runtime: 98 min
Main Cast:
- Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Hercules
- Ian McShane as Amphiaraus
- John Hurt as Lord Cotys
- Rufus Sewell as Autolycus
- Aksel Hennie as Tydeus
Review: by Anthony and Lee
After watching that horrid Hercules movie starring Kellan Lutz, how could we not go for the upgraded version starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson? He's The Rock!
Hercules told the story of, well, Hercules. Following the completion of his twelve labors, Hercules and his fellow mercenaries were sought out by the king of Thrace and his daughter, who wanted his aid in ridding their kingdom of a terrible warlord that had been terrorizing their villages. Hercules and his companions agreed to help the king for the payment of Hercules’ weight in gold, which ended up being doubled. The movie followed Hercules as he prepared the kings army of farmers for war, fought, and faced his haunting past.
What We Liked:
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was certainly no Kevin Sorbo as far as Hercules goes, but he was a far cry better than Kellan Lutz. His portrayal of Hercules was better in every single way. Granted, The Rock is still not the greatest actor, but he definitely did not stink up the film. It probably helped, however, that the writing was equally as superior to the Kellan Lutz film.
The story itself was quite interesting and strayed from the typical Hercules fare, challenging his legend and calling into question whether he was, in fact, the son of Zeus. Such a deviance from the norm was welcome in our book, and it made for a pretty decent plot, one that was surprisingly and wonderfully free from a forced love story. We thought it might have gone there, but thankfully it steered fully clear of any unnecessary kissing or sex scenes. One of the best things about the movie, though, were the characters.
The secondary characters, Hercules’ merry band, were surprisingly likable. When I (Lee) first saw the female archer, Atalanta (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal), I groaned. She seemed like the typical manly woman who was there just so a woman would be in the movie, and I thought her lines and usefulness would have been subpar compared to the men; however, I was pleasantly surprised. His nephew, Iolaus (Reece Ritchie) was really the only character that seemed unnecessary or useless, and even he added to the whole mortal/demigod storyline.
The special effects were alright, still better than the Kellan Lutz version, but they were nothing really special. They didn’t stand out as being bad. However, we did miss the first few minutes of the movie and, thus, the fight with the lion and the boar. Those scenes may have made a difference.
What We Didn’t Like:
While the special effects were alright, the 3D was a bit off. Things in the foreground were fine, but the background was frequently blurry. The emergence of “Cerberus” from the smoke would be a good example of this. The heads were blurry until they came into the foreground. It was slightly headache-inducing.
Anthony also did not like the lack of gods in the movie. This, of course, was due to the whole questioning of the Hercules legend, but he had expected and wanted them. They were not there.
Also, things were a bit predictable.
Summary
Hercules wasn’t the greatest movie in the world, and it had nothing on Disney’s animated version; but, it was entertaining to say the least. It was a new twist on an old story, and it worked for the most part. It was definitely better than we expected it to be, and, therefore, we can’t be mad.
User Review
( votes)Images Courtesy of IMDB
