Hercules - Analysis and Review

The Legend comes to life... No not the one with Kellan Lutz

This year saw the arrival of two movies about the legendary Greek Demigod Heracles...I mean Hercules. Sorry, Greek Myth nerd here. Hercules is the way Romans say his name. Heracles is his Greek name. But since the Roman name sounds better, people just stick with it.

The Plot

After accomplishing his legendary 12 Labors, Hercules (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) wanders the Earth as a mercenary after suffering a traumatic loss. With his band of mercenaries, they are recruited by King Cotys of Thrace (John Hurt) to train the Thracian army into an efficient fighting force against a massive army of Centaurs that have divided their land.

Analysis

If you read my Educating the Audience article about Hercules then you know that I have a lot of knowledge on the subject. From his story being an influence to the hit video game God of War to knowing this film is based on Steve Moore's graphic novel, The Thracian Wars. So one can assume that being this knowledgeable would make me a harsh critic for this film. I am, but not as much as one might think.

Review

Remember that movie back in January called The Legend of Hercules starring Kellan Lutz and a bunch of stunt guys from 300 and Spartacus? The film is considered an atrocity. And for anyone who saw it, immediately proclaimed that they are now extremely excited to see Brett Ratner's take. Which given Ratner's reputation as the man who ruined X-Men: The Last Stand, that is saying a lot.

I'll say this right off the bat so that people who haven't seen it yet can go in with this expectation: the fantasy elements of the story are not real. Given that the film is based on the graphic novel Hercules: The Thracian Wars, I partially predicted this would be the case. All the scenes of The Rock... I mean Hercules killing and beating the living shit out of monsters was just a story used to build his reputation. It helps as a great prologue, yet also adds a little bit more dimension to the character as a man who has to live up to a reputation he believes he can't. A reputation that gets him and his companions hired for jobs. And if you looked like The Rock, you would believe all those exaggerated stories are true.

The plot unfolds the way one would think. It is a fairly predictable movie once you know the fantasy element is gone. When someone claims they're going to be fighting centaurs, it actually means whoever saw this was really high and just saw a bunch of people on horseback. But just because it's predictable doesn't mean it isn't enjoyable.

Despite having some really cheesy dialogue, and I do mean really cheesy dialogue, the actors in this film relish it. They don't seem ashamed of what they're saying, because they're having so much fun. And while usually that would detract from the movie, the performances are so good that you'll be having fun along with them. Particularly the major comic relief characters of the film played by Rufus Sewell and Ian McShane as Hercules' best friend and really high fortune teller. They have some of the best lines in the movie, especially McShane's character. 

But it is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson who shines in this movie. While his performance isn't groundbreaking, his charisma carries this movie well. With what little emotive acting he can muster, it is just enough for us to believe the inner demons he possess. This movie could've easily had a dark and brooding Hercules, but luckily it didn't go that route. They take advantage of The Rock's charisma as a man who puts on a front as a proud and welcoming hero who hides his trauma. After all, keeping appearances is part of the con for a man pretending to be the son of Zeus.

I do find it very odd that super models Irina Shayk and Barbara Palvin, who were heavily promoted in commercials, were in the film very little. Palvin was only in it for 6 seconds. Shayk on the other hand was in it for a fair amount of time. Though the promos made it seem like she would be in it a lot  longer. Shayk plays Megara, Hercules' wife and mother of his children, and only has one line. She does play an important role into Hercules' backstory but other than being a loving mother in one scene and naked in another, she didn't really have much to do. Given that she's a model and not an actress (she even stated this in interviews herself) it was obvious that she was meant for just eye candy. But given what her role was, it could've been expanded to add a bit more to Hercules' backstory and weight given what happens to her character.

The action scenes in this film are solid. They are obvious rip offs of Gladiator and Troy, but at least they are good rip offs rather than The Legend of Hercules which does a horrendously bad rip off of the over done fighting style in 300. While this film is suppose to be a realistic take on Hercules, the way he fights does come off a bit too unrealistic. Again though, if you're going to sell to people that you're demigod then the action suits him just fine.

Final Thoughts

There hasn't been any good Greek Mythology films in a long time. By a long time I mean since the Ray Harryhausen era. But this is a suitable film to sate the need for Greek myth movies. Is it amazing? No. Is it bad? Kind of but not terrible. Is it fun? ABSOLUTELY! The way I'd describe it is that this is the movie Brad Pitt's Troy and Sam Worthington's Clash of the Titans wishes it could be. More Troy though since that was a more realistic take than mythological, and they have the same costumes. But all in all, this was fun.

SCORE: 6.5/10 - The best Greek Myth film of this generation...yet not the greatest Greek Myth film of all time

Educating the Audience - Hercules starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson

Audiences know who he is. He is Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson! Actually, no, that's not who I'm talking about. Everyone has at one point or another heard of Hercules or as he is most commonly known in Greek Mythology: Heracles. Yup. Hercules is merely a Romanization of the Greek name that means "Glory to Hera." Why he is called such is because his mother knew that after conceiving a child with Zeus, his wife Hera would not approve of another illegitimate offspring. Though at this point Hera has grown  extremely fed up with Zeus sleeping around with other women and decided to actually cause great amount of suffering for poor Heracles. Fortunately for Heracles, he was the first of Zeus's children to be born with extreme powers. Most notably his tremendous strength. So in a sense, physical threats become obstacles but he will always have an edge. That is where Hera has to go to the extreme in order to really make the bastard son of her husband really suffer. I bring up this point to address an issues among people who view the trailer for this movie.

Acknowledging the God of War Comparisons

From the new trailer that can easily be found on youtube, many comments have pointed out that his story in this movie seems too similar to the story in the critically acclaimed video game: God of War. The game has a Greek mythology setting and tells the legend of a man named Kratos who was driven mad by Ares, the God of War, into becoming the greatest warrior in Greece. However in order to make him unstoppable with nothing to hold him back, Ares drove Kratos to insanity to the point where he didn't realize that he was murdering his wife and daughter. Once realizing what he has done, he breaks free from Ares and vows to kill the god who made him the greatest warrior.

In the new trailer it shows Hercules (Dwayne Johnson) witnessing the death of his wife Megaera (played by Russian model Irina Shayk) and his three sons at the hands of Cerberus, the three-headed monster dog. Whether or not that's what actually happened is questionable due to the way the trailer is edited, but it is strongly suggested that Hercules sees the death of his family. This sets him on a path that is not clearly defined in the trailer if he is seeking revenge or if he's lost in life and just lives as a mercenary.

Now, for people who have played God of War, this will immediately seem like a rip off. When in fact, God of War borrowed (see I said borrowed not ripped off) the idea of killing one's family from the actual Heracles myth. In the recorded mythology of Heracles, Hera concocts a plan to really make him suffer by poisoning him with a hallucinogen that makes him believe his wife and sons are monsters. Believing he has killed savage beasts he discovers in horror that he ripped his family apart with his bare hands causing him to want to kill himself. He was stopped though and imprisoned by the King of Thebes (his half-brother) who decides that in order to redeem his horrifying act of murder he must complete 12 Labours that only he can accomplish.

So NO gamers, this movie doesn't rip off of God of War. God of War "ripped off" of the Heracles myth. It should also be interesting to note that the trailers give the impression that his 12 Labours are more like heroic deeds he accomplished before he was married instead of his sentence for murdering his family. This puts this version of Hercules right where they need him to be since this movie is also based on another source:

It is based on a comic - Hercules: The Thracian Wars

The movie is a semi-adaptation of the Radical Publishing graphic novel: Hercules The Thracian Wars. In it Hercules travels with a group of mercenaries after completing his 12 Labours yet still haunted by his past. In the comic he is recruited by the King of Thrace to turn his army into the most dangerous army in the world. After Hercules and his motley crew do so, they begin to realize how violent they are and plan to put a stop to the large army of monster they helped created.

From the trailer it only looks like part of this plot is taken. It can only be assumed that John Hurt is playing the King of Thrace and he does recruit Hercules. But in this film it looks like he recruits him because they're at war with a renegade god. Though at the same time it still looks like Hercules and his crew will be training the army into a force of killers so there is that. The strange thing is the graphic novel makes the story of Hercules more like a real person with his deeds being over exaggerated accounts of what he actually did. In the film it looks like the filmmakers decided to keep the fantasy elements in tact, probably to draw in the audience familiar with those elements.

And there you have it. All you need to know.

These were just some of the problems and questions I wanted to point out about the film. Whether or not this movie will be good is still questionable as Greek Mythology films of late haven't really been memorable. Here's hoping that this iteration turns out to be at least a decent flick unlike that other film starring Kellan Lutz. If you don't know what I'm talking about, best that you don't know.