Hercules

I find mythology fascinating. I love the stories of gods, goddesses, and creatures such as centaurs and cyclopses. Growing up, one of my favorite movies that my family owns on VHS is: Disney's version of Hercules. In addition, in my Latin III class in high school, I had to do a presentation on Hercules, or shall I say: Heracles? Therefore, I know a thing or two about Hercules and I was pretty excited to see Brett Ratner's version. As a fan of Hercules, Ratner's portrayal of the Greek hero did not meet my standards. 

The background did stay congruent to the original myth. Hercules, played by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, was introduced as the son of the mighty Zeus and a mortal Alcmene. He is known for his strength and his adventures of completing "12 Labors". 

The basis of the film was Hercules trying to protect the kingdom of Thrace by capturing Rheseus (Tobias Santelmann). Hercules initially accepted this task because he was promised to be paid double his weight in gold. Later he realizes that Thrace is corrupted and decides to fight for what is right.

Although the film is 98 minutes, I felt like it was shorter. Nothing really amazed me in the film. It was not a complex plot and it did not bring anything new to the table. The action scenes were standard. The acting was nothing spectacular. 

I did appreciate the script and the characters. Tydeus (Aksel Hennie) was one of my favorites. He is seen as savage, but loyal. He did not have any audible lines, but his actions made up for it. I also enjoyed Amphiarus's (Ian McShane) comical stunts, such as when he is predicting his death but survives each time.

Hercules is a film in which I would rather wait until RedBox. It was not terrible, but not amazing. It is okay. As of now, I find Troy (2004) to be a better film centering around Greek mythology than this film. I always prefer Hercules over Achilles, but not in the case of films.

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CREDITS

Writers: Ryan Condal, Evan Spiliotopoulos, and Steve Moore
Director: Brett Ratner
Producers: Beau Flynn, Sarah Aubrey, and Barry Levine.
Main Cast: Dwayne Johnson, Ian McShane, John Hurt, and Rufus Sewell
Running Time: 98 minutes