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

Snowpiercer - Analysis and Review

Find it and Watch it. Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes...

It is unfortunate that this film had to premier the same day that Transformers: Age of Extinction because it is obvious which one will make a lot more money. It is also unfortunate that this movie is only showing in 10 cities all over America instead of the wide release it is getting overseas because of what the Weinstein Company did. So even if people wanted to see it, they couldn't. The catch for a wide American release is if the film does extraordinarily well at the box-office with the 10 cities that it is being shown at. This movie was just set up for failure in America from the start. And that is really sad.

The Plot

After an attempt to stop global warming goes horribly wrong, the world gets sent into a new Ice Age. The surviving humans only chance of survival is the Wilford Train that was designed to circle the globe in one year. A train with an eternal engine and the capabilities of surviving the most harshest environments. The survivors are divided into classes. The Rich occupy the front of the train, and the Poor occupy the tail. In a desperate move to seize control of lives they have forgotten from being on board the train for 17 years, Curtis (Chris Evans) rallies the passengers of the tail in a revolt to take over the front of the train! Their mission will take them through a long path of violence and discovery as the ones left standing will soon learn why The Powerful chose to keep The Poor alive. And in the end... what does it mean to ensure World Order.

Analysis

The Best Science Fiction Movies are the ones that ask the hard questions or put a mirror on society. This is an example of one of those films. Unfortunately it is not a film that will succeed in America. I remember watching a trailer reaction video of people who immediately declare it a Hunger Games rip off but on a train. Which fascinated them but they just keep seeing an R-Rated Hunger Games on a train instead of a different dystopian Sci-Fi movie. And because of the trailers being very vague around the premise of the movie other than there is a clear separation between the rich and the poor, the average American Movie Going Audience will just groan at the thought of Hunger Games on a train. When it is clearly not.

The problem is dystopian futures are everywhere these days. Whether it be in The Hunger Games or in X-Men: Days of Future Past or in TV Shows like The Walking Dead, the genre for post-apocalyptic future is everywhere. While The Hunger Games offered a new take on for an audience not familiar with other types of post-apocalyptic futures, any other new take would just be looked at as a Hunger Games rip off. I'm sorry, but it is true. Even if people want to call Snowpiercer a new look and a much better high quality science fiction examination of the post-apocalypitc future, it will always be viewed by an American audience as R-Rated Hunger Games on a Train. 

Most viewers don't even ask: why are they on a train? Why is it snowing outside? Instead what I see from youtube comments or trailer reaction videos from people who don't know anything just think: Oh so they stick some poor people  and some rich people on a train then kill each other and whoever is left standing wins. In other words Hunger Games on a Train. They don't ask, why is the whole world on a train. They don't even think its the whole world, just a few people and maybe the rest of the world is watching. They don't even ask why is it snowing outside? No one even seems to question that part. So in the end, while it is not good to have youtube comments or commentators to be the basis for the representation of the general movie going public the sad truth sometimes is that it is.

I'm aware that both The Hunger Games and Snowpiercer have the class war similarities and the same reasons as to why class war is integral to maintaing a balance in society. But The Hunger Games takes three books/four movies to get that point across. Snowpiercer gets it done in one movie. 

Review

Director Bong Joon-Ho is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors. He is probably best known in the states for creating The Host (2006) the Korean monster film that was a universally praised by critics all over the world as the best monster movie and political thriller made in years. The Host was definitely Korea's biggest worldwide big budget blockbuster and his take on Snowpiercer will be his second foray into the big budget arena. Though in comparison to American big budget movies (100-200 million) this one is only a medium budget movie in the states (60-70 million). But that is still a lot and he handles what he has with extreme care and precision.

He does what directors used to do a long time ago, and if some were to do this now they would automatically be ousted. He took inspiration from a graphic novel and turned it into a film. He didn't adapt the graphic novel to the screen, he took the idea and made the idea into a movie. That is something that would be looked down upon if an American director tried adapting a comic book these days. But because the comic was not too popular even in its native country of France, one can see how easy it would be to create a film off of a pre-existing text without getting any flack for inaccuracies. It was the smartest decision to make and one that won't restrain him from having to follow the story beat by beat. Because the ideas are what resonate with people, not the story in the graphic novel. Him and his American co-screenwriter, Kelly Masterson, handle it well.

But enough about the behind the scenes guys, lets talk about the people in front of the camera. Chris Evans, better known as Captain America, plays a reluctant hero named Curtis who does not want to be a leader and does not use grand speeches to sway his fellow passengers but rather actions of bravery that speak louder than an motivational speech. This is a distinction that makes him different from most character put in this situation. He is not a leader, yet people look to him as if he is just because he's taking the lead without have to lead anyone. This may sound like incompetence but it is the way friends would follow one of their friends. These people know each other and will follow each other till the end. That is shown by the loyal Edgar played by Jaime Bell, the desperate mother played by Octavia Spencer, the silent assassin played by Luke Pasqualino, and the man who inspired them all played by John Hurt. Their plight is driven mostly by the odd character of Mason played by Tilda Swinton who is the supreme example of someone who is passionate about their job but is not evil. The job just makes her look evil. Which is a common theme in this movie: the need for there to be a class struggle to maintain balance. Then of course caught in the middle of this power struggle is someone who once worked for the rich, played by Song Kang-ho, and his daughter played by Go Ah-sung (who played father and daughter in The Host) who were placed in prison for being drug addicts. They prove to be integral to the success of Curtis' revolution as well as shades of who the rich really are in this train.

There is a small appearance by Allison Pill who plays a pregnant teacher with an extraordinarily high positive attitude while wielding an uzi. But then there is a small role played by a well known actor that really brings all the pieces together. And when assembled it shows that in order for there to be order, there has to be temporary chaos to remind people of the horrors of chaos. Without a moment of chaos, order means nothing. It is the same as saying that without the existence of the poor, then there would be no distinction of who is rich or any need to want to do better. The film delves into what these concepts mean and funnels it into a film that literally has the whole world on a train. And on that train that circles the globe, the world is still the same.

Final Thoughts

I'm not going to discuss how I saw this movie. But I'll say that the reason why I had to see this movie through illegal means is because there was no theater anywhere near me that was showing it. And even though there is one in the next city away from me, I'm not willing to drive to a city that is only showing it for limited time in one theater. This contributes to the problem of film piracy and unless the wide release happens then result to any means necessary to see it. It is a great film and I would've gladly contributed my money to it. I will even buy it once it hits the home markets. But for now, if you're lucky enough to have it playing in a theater near you, go see it. For those of us who don't, I should say wait, but knowing the drama behind showing this movie in America: Waiting is no longer an option.

SCORE: 9.5/10 - One of the best Sci-Fi films this year that will never be seen.