Tired
Legend
- Joined
- Feb 7, 2011
- Messages
- 4,768
- Reaction score
- 0
<big><big>Hercules</big></big>
That's right. My first review got followed up with a second one.
Before the movie :
I went into this one with low expectations, to be honest. Up until now, I had only enjoyed two movies with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in them, and both were comedies (Get Smart and The Other Guys). And since The Scorpion King, just about every movie of this genre has tried to copy Scorpion King or 300, but with their own twist on it. My friends and I only picked this film because somebody had an issue with each of our first choices. Hercules was simply the least objectionable.
Movie Plot :
Hercules is the result of the Great God Zeus' affair with a mortal woman. Zeus' wife Hera kept plotting to kill Hercules, but Hercules had inherited his father's strength, and nothing phased him. Hera vowed that if Hercules could complete 12 Great Labours, then she would allow him to finally live in peace. So far, Hercules has mastered 11 of them, and while join the other gods once he completes his final Labour.
Or that is how the legend goes. Hercules is far from the person in those stories. Driven mad by Hera's quest, Hercules once slaughtered his entire family, believing himself to have been battling a Cerberus. Haunted by the memory, Hercules has shunned Zeus and dedicated himself to a life of war as a punishment for his own crimes.
Hercules is then hired by Lord Cotys to train the army of Thrace to battle the warmonger Rhesus. Rhesus and his army of Centaurs have been on a path of destruction, killing everyone they encounter and burning villages to the ground. Cotys desires to defeat Rhesus before his army becomes too powerful. Hercules decides to make this his final mission before disappearing from civilization for good.
My impressions:
+ Despite how cluttered that synopsis is, they take care of the detailed stuff really early. This leaves more time for the actual story.
+ The battle scenes are carefully plotted out and easy to follow. None of this "hero swings axe, cuts through 5 enemies like butter without even looking at them" nonsense. You can see the characters reacting to enemy attacks and reacting with intelligence and instinct.
+ Just about everything they did is wrong (e.g. Hercules having a team of warriors), but it all works so well.
+ Sticks to its rating, but this is not a bad thing. At all.
+ Plenty of comedy.
- When you find out Amphiarus' secret, he becomes a bit annoying. Also, older British OSR members won't be able to stop seeing Lovejoy in a beard and wig.
- The CGI at the start to make the baby appear well-endowed. Seriously, what the hell?
- The credits. Serious mis-match between the music as the movie ends, and the music that introduces the credits. It is a stark wake-up call telling you that the movie is over. Nothing wrong with the song itself, but just badly placed.
I was genuinely surprised by this. As I said already, I had a bunch of reasons to expect very little from this. But I was genuinely entertained. It will not be remembered as one of the better movies this year, but that is mainly because it came out alongside Guardians of the Galaxy. Some people may be put off by the lack of gore and fantasy in the battle scenes. But I maintain that the film handles such scenes better than many others in the genre.
If you're avoiding this movie because The Rock is in it, you are making a big mistake.
<big><big>7.5/10</big></big>
That's right. My first review got followed up with a second one.
Before the movie :
I went into this one with low expectations, to be honest. Up until now, I had only enjoyed two movies with Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in them, and both were comedies (Get Smart and The Other Guys). And since The Scorpion King, just about every movie of this genre has tried to copy Scorpion King or 300, but with their own twist on it. My friends and I only picked this film because somebody had an issue with each of our first choices. Hercules was simply the least objectionable.
Movie Plot :
Hercules is the result of the Great God Zeus' affair with a mortal woman. Zeus' wife Hera kept plotting to kill Hercules, but Hercules had inherited his father's strength, and nothing phased him. Hera vowed that if Hercules could complete 12 Great Labours, then she would allow him to finally live in peace. So far, Hercules has mastered 11 of them, and while join the other gods once he completes his final Labour.
Or that is how the legend goes. Hercules is far from the person in those stories. Driven mad by Hera's quest, Hercules once slaughtered his entire family, believing himself to have been battling a Cerberus. Haunted by the memory, Hercules has shunned Zeus and dedicated himself to a life of war as a punishment for his own crimes.
Hercules is then hired by Lord Cotys to train the army of Thrace to battle the warmonger Rhesus. Rhesus and his army of Centaurs have been on a path of destruction, killing everyone they encounter and burning villages to the ground. Cotys desires to defeat Rhesus before his army becomes too powerful. Hercules decides to make this his final mission before disappearing from civilization for good.
My impressions:
+ Despite how cluttered that synopsis is, they take care of the detailed stuff really early. This leaves more time for the actual story.
+ The battle scenes are carefully plotted out and easy to follow. None of this "hero swings axe, cuts through 5 enemies like butter without even looking at them" nonsense. You can see the characters reacting to enemy attacks and reacting with intelligence and instinct.
+ Just about everything they did is wrong (e.g. Hercules having a team of warriors), but it all works so well.
+ Sticks to its rating, but this is not a bad thing. At all.
+ Plenty of comedy.
- When you find out Amphiarus' secret, he becomes a bit annoying. Also, older British OSR members won't be able to stop seeing Lovejoy in a beard and wig.
- The CGI at the start to make the baby appear well-endowed. Seriously, what the hell?
- The credits. Serious mis-match between the music as the movie ends, and the music that introduces the credits. It is a stark wake-up call telling you that the movie is over. Nothing wrong with the song itself, but just badly placed.
I was genuinely surprised by this. As I said already, I had a bunch of reasons to expect very little from this. But I was genuinely entertained. It will not be remembered as one of the better movies this year, but that is mainly because it came out alongside Guardians of the Galaxy. Some people may be put off by the lack of gore and fantasy in the battle scenes. But I maintain that the film handles such scenes better than many others in the genre.
If you're avoiding this movie because The Rock is in it, you are making a big mistake.
<big><big>7.5/10</big></big>