"A man who wants nothing has no price." - Cotys
I don't know how many movies and TV series (around 38) based
on the Greek Heracles and the Roman Hercules.
Some are comedies like "The Three Stooges Meet Hercules" and
some are some are spoofs like the 1933 "The Warrior's Husband." Some Hercules movies end up being ridiculous
like the 1969 low budget attempt titled “Hercules in New York," played by
Arnold Schwarzenegger. Dwayne Johnson's
"Hercules" turns out to be far above these aforementioned films that
Brett Ratner's take may actually feel a bit encouraging. Although not an epic film, Johnson's
portrayal, although sometimes stiff, is actually decent. Almost epic battle scenes and a slightly
above average story based somewhat on the Steve Moore penned comic
"Hercules: Thracian Wars," "Hercules" makes a fun
Saturday popcorn action-adventure film.
Perfectly timed at a one hour and thirty-two minutes, the film is rated
PG-13 for the aforementioned battles and the one swear word that the film could
have done without.
I grew up reading Greek Mythology. In doing so, I learned that various versions
and translations exist and I have come to understand that part of Greek
literature was a means of teaching lessons and values. Brett Ratner's "Hercules" in spite
of its obvious flaws, tongue in cheeks jokes doesn't exactly that, and just a
tad more. Since working his way out of
the gladiator pit of the World-Wide Wrestling Federation in the late-late nineties,
Dwayne Johnson has been working at the acting craft and has turned his presence
into something more likeable then the horribly digitized Scorpion King in the
"The Mummy Returns" in 2001.
He is good at action, we know that and he is good a lighthearted comedy,
so it seems this version of Hercules is right for him.
"We will fight for you, and we will die for you!" ~ Atalanta
John Hurt is always busy these days. The 74 year-old actor whose 189 film and television credits include the
classic sci-fi horror film "Alien," David Lynch's "The Elephant
Man," and "V for Vendetta.” He
played Winston Smith, the doomed revolutionary in the George Orwell adaptation
of "1984," Hurt played in the
"Harry Potter," and
"Hellboy" franchises and he co-starred in the much maligned
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." He played Hrothgar in the science fiction
version of “Beowulf,” titled "Outlander." Here he plays Lord Cotys of Thrace, the
seemingly beleaguered noble leader of the downtrodden Thracians. Hurt plays Cotys very serious and is almost
believable in his piety and desire for a better Thrace. His daughter Ergenia (Rebecca Ferguson) is
the dutiful daughter of whose job it is to entice Hercules to come and fight
Cotys' enemies for him. She has a son,
Arius (Isaac Andrews), who is about the same age as one of Hercules's dead kids. Peter Mullan ("Trainspotting,"
"War Horse") is Cotys's general and current military leader who eyes
Hercules with disdain. Joseph Fiennes
("Enemy at the Gates," "Luther") plays King Eurystheus of
Athens, Hercules cousin and benefactor.
The story has nothing to do with Hercules' 12 labors of myth
and legend. In fact, as the audience
finds out, these stories are the invention of Iolaus' imagination and his insistence
at being Hercules walking public relations manager. In fact, he is very good at it. Iolaus turns the victories of the group into
the victory of the one and fuels the flame of myth. At one point, I thought he was going to tell me that the leather armor was made out of "fine Corinthian leather."
The other four go along because it makes
vanquishing their enemies easier if they think that Hercules is more than a
man. After Ergenia's urging, the gold
seeking mercenaries come to Thrace and have an audience with Cotys. Hercules accepts the role of training Cotys’
and Sitacles' (Mullan) rag-tag army.
They do this primarily by teaching the hapless soldiers to lock their
feet and brace their shields for impact.
This is pretty much the basis, of the strategy (a good one by Greek and
Roman hoplite convention) when Hercules shouts "Shield Wall!"
"You think you know the truth about him? You know nothing!” ~
Much of what happens in "Hercules" is seen in
films like "Gladiator" with Russell Crowe, or "King Arthur"
with Clive Owen. Like "Game of
Thrones," there is treachery, there are battles and the death of his family
haunts the hero. Ryan Condal and Evan Spiliotopoulos' script works to reduce the character of Hercules to its bare
essence. Is he a man? A legend, or was he just a myth. Although there isn't any epic battles against
fantastical creatures (except told in the beginning by Iolaus) the battle
scenes are done pretty well when seen from above. From ground view, the action is realistic and
the gore level is turned down to an appropriate PG-13 level. Musically, Fernando Velázquez
("Mama," "Devil") score works for this film as it not only
holds the scenes together but gets the audiences adrenaline rushing as well. It takes many Special Effects Houses to
create a film like this because there is just so much. Many of the VFX are fine, but in places
(snakes slithering from Hera's eyes) are not up to par.
The plot twists are predictable, the jokes are corny, and
the dialog is cheesy. For the most part
this works on one level, but is lacking in others. Ian McShane works hard with what he has, does
a reasonably good job in propping up with the dialog, and plays it kind of
tongue in cheek. For example, when a
burning javelin is flying toward his chest, which he predicted, he opens his
arms and welcomes his death. Just as the
music rises, ready to crescendo, Johnson snatches the javelin from the air, and
Amphiaraus says, "Do you mind? I
was having a moment!” Johnson does well
in these types of sword and sandals flicks.
Unlike "300" and its sequel, I don't think Brett Ratner is
actually working to reach the grandeur of either "Gladiator" or
"King Arthur." Instead, Ratner
seems to know his place and gives us just enough story to keep us interested,
just enough action to keep us from being bored, just enough corny dialog to let
us know that this film isn't serious, and just enough of Johnson's charisma to
keep us watching. This is a fun film and
entertaining film, but if you are looking for something profound, this isn't
it. What you will get out of
this is a lesson on friendship, loyalty, honor, and integrity. If you get that much out of
"Hercules," then it is definitely worth watching.
Movie Data
Movie Data
Genre: Action, Adventure
Year: 2014
Staring: Dwayne Johnson, Ian McShane, John Hurt, Rufus Sewell, Aksel Hennie, Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, Reece Ritchie
Director: Brett Ratner
Producer(s): Beau Flynn, Barry Levine, Brett Ratner
Writer: Ryan Condal, Evan Spiliotopoulos, Steve Moore (comic)
Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 98 minutes
Release Date: 7/25/2014
