Directed by:
Brett RatnerScreenplay:
Evan SpiliotopoulosCinematography:
Dante SpinottiCast:
Dwayne Johnson, Ian McShane, Rufus Sewell, Aksel Hennie, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Reece Ritchie, Tobias Santelmann, Joseph Fiennes, Peter Mullan, John Hurt (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Fourteen hundred years ago, a tormented soul walked the earth that was neither man nor god. Hercules was the powerful son of the god king Zeus, for this he received nothing but suffering his entire life. After twelve arduous labours and the loss of his family, this dark, world-weary soul turned his back on the gods finding his only solace in bloody battle. Over the years he warmed to the company of six similar souls, their only bond being their love of fighting and presence of death. These men and women never question where they go to fight or why or whom, just how much they will be paid. Now the King of Thrace has hired these mercenaries to train his men to become the greatest army of all time. It is time for this bunch of lost souls to finally have their eyes opened to how far they have fallen when they must train an army to become as ruthless and blood thirsty as their reputation has become. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (7)
I like the idea of removing the myth from Hercules, the story based on the comic book is fine. Predictable and simple, but fine. The tempo is just right (slowing only after the introductory action sequence), decent effects and Dwayne is trying hard. Liberal usage of snappy lines (soothsayer Ian McShane dominates in this) and everything’s simply ok. Unfortunately “ok" is the problem. Ratner isn’t able to come up with anything interesting or original. The story fizzles out and ends in flames and in Scorpion King style. Hasn’t the Rock learned anything over the years?
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If Hercules had focused on completing the 12 tasks I think the film would have gone into the red as well, but I'm still very pleasantly surprised at how entertaining it is. I'm definitely impressed by the awesome Dwayne Johnson, the very attractive visuals and CGI, I haven't seen such top notch effects in a long time. I was also surprised by the great and creative action, it is long, imaginative, excellently shot and at times decently brutal, so fans will definitely get a kick out of this one. And I was especially pleased that the film pokes fun at legends and superstitions and that there's always a realistic explanation. Perfect entertainment!
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When I saw the trailer - just that short one where Hercules fights the lion - I thought to myself that finally there's an American film that has taken hold of myths and interprets them as they are told. The first few minutes even hinted at that, but five minutes were enough, and then all my hopes collapsed. This is simply an American action film that has some good characters - like Rufus Sewell or Ian McShane - and perhaps Tydeus' character, portrayed by the excellent Axel Hennie, is well-written. It plays on being heavily packed with action and humor, and of course, it ends well as expected. Pretty good for popcorn entertainment. I wasn't completely bored, although there were moments when I was close to it.
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Watch the extended and unrated cut, otherwise it won’t make any sense. Because the only thing tha does are the several very well-executed action and battle sequences that often captivate with their straightforwardness and relatively solid dose of heaven-piercing force. The rest is just a more or less effective mess of clichés. Rather than being a pompous ancient legend, it's closer to a dirty and gloomy Conan the Barbarian, and even the main hero himself is stylized as such. It's trash, but the protagonists are and surprisingly the wisecracks work quite well and solidly lighten up the unoriginal script.
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