First of all, I want to preface this review by the fact that I am aware that the film is based on a Graphic Novel, Hercules: the Thracian Wars. I am, however, completely unaware of the Graphic Novel, so I have decided to ignore it completely and judge the movie entirely on its own merits, of which it has more than a few. I also want to note that this movie is ridiculously and hilariously misrepresented by the absolutely awful and stupid trailers released to promote it.
This is an unusual take on the legend of Hercules for sure, but not an unwelcome one. I am not opposed to changes and updates to Greek myths, as long as they are done well and with respect to the source material, otherwise I wouldn't like the Percy Jackson series so much. The problem with past Hercules adaptations has always been that they never portray Hercules correctly. Hercules was a man with great strength, so much so that it hardly seemed like he could be mortal, and in fact he wasn't. Hercules was, according to the myth, a demigod, the son of Zeus, the King of the Gods. He was capable of performing tasks that no one else could. He was also pretty selfish, and kind of a jerk, sleeping around as much as his godly father. He eventually married, however, and began to raise a family, which he loved more than himself, so his step mother Hera, jealous of Zeus' infidelity, put a madness upon Hercules that tricked him into killing his family with his bare hands.
Because the Greek gods are also big jerks, they blamed Hercules for the deaths, and so he had to perform the Twelve Labors to atone for the deaths. Eventually he married again, and then he died and became a god, marrying once more to Hebe, goddess of youth and beauty. During his labors, he became a true hero, someone who went out of his way to defend others, though, depending on the version of the story that you prefer, the degree of this transformation varies. Either way Hercules is a true heroic figure in the classical sense, and it makes sense why his story would be so popular. He is larger than life, capable of doing things that no one else can. He's looked up to and either feared or admired by everyone around him, and he has to carry the burden of living up to that fact. While this movie presented a very different take on the myth overall, it got this part of the story right, and that's what really matters.
This version of Hercules is a man gifted with great strength, sure, but is he divine? He doesn't know. He never knew his father. He performed his "twelve labors" not as missions from the gods, but as missions from the king Eurystheus to make Athens a safer place. The Nemean Lion wasn't an invulnerable monster, but one so large and powerful that it gained the reputation of being so. The Hydra wasn't a many-headed serpent, but a group of many men who disguised themselves as the heads of a monster to incite fear in others. And Hercules didn't face them alone, he did so with a group of highly skilled and loyal friends, characters from the various Hercules stories, who have been at his side for years. Then he lost everything. His family was killed, and he was blamed, and just as Hercules doesn't know his parentage, he doesn't know if he killed them. He blacked out and awoke with their blood on his hands. Now he has no home, so he fights to gather the resources that he needs to build a new one, helped by the embellishments to his story spread around by his story-teller nephew Iolaus. It is thanks to these exaggerations that people have begun to believe that Hercules is not only the supposed son of a god, but a god himself, completely un-killable, and Hercules welcomes this, as it makes his enemies hesitate out of fear whenever he arrives in battle.
Hercules, however, is something special. Divine or not, he is stronger than any other man, able to lift and throw a cavalry horse, toss a man so hard that he topples over three others, or kill five warriors with a single swing of his club. And there are definitely supernatural elements to the story, which is otherwise a pretty accurate period movie, as far as Hollywood movies go anyway. One of Hercules' own party is a seer who is able to predict events of the movie ahead of time, and Hercules once received a prophesy from the Oracle of Delphi which we see fulfilled in the movie. So is Hercules a demigod, destined to dwell forever on Mount Olympus, or is he just a gifted man? Well, that's the point of the movie: it doesn't matter, because as things get worse and worse, after more than one opportunity to give up and move on with his life, Hercules still fights the hero's fight, performing tasks that no one else could in defense of others, living up to the legend which he so carefully cultivated. While a good-looking and exciting popcorn action blockbuster, Hercules was also a surprisingly poignant story about believing in yourself and living up to your potential.
Hercules wasn't a masterpiece. It definitely had issues. A lot of the characters were pretty cookie-cutter, with pretty boring and predictable villains. The action was noticeably enhanced through the use of heavy CG. The heroes, however, were all cool and likeable, Hercules' characterization was done very well, and Dwayne Johnson performed the part like a pro. It is far from a perfect movie, but it is a fun movie, and I enjoyed it more than I ever thought that I would. If you are a fan of action movies, I say go see it. If you are a fan of movies in general, I suggest that you at least give checking it out some serious consideration. I give Hercules an above average 7 out of 10. Give it a look, and come back later for another Something Awesome.
Good review.
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