Okay, before I tell you how much I enjoyed this movie, let's
get The Big Gripe out of the way …
That being the advertising campaign that preceded the film's
release and was pretty much a total misrepresentation of what the movie is really
about. If you saw any of the trailers, you saw repeated showings of Herc
fighting the Nemean Lion or the Hydra or the giant Wild Boar of the forest.
Great special effects, nicely staged, very exciting-looking stuff. And all of
it is in the movie … Trouble is, it only lasts about five minutes total
and is told in flashbacks very early on in the film when Herc's young
chronicler, Iolaus, is telling these tales to some bad guys who have him
captured, trying to frighten them with the threat of how Herc will be showing
up to kick their asses if they don't let him go.
Of course, Herc does show up --- along with the rest
of his traveling mercenary band --- does kick the necessary asses, and saves
Iolaus from being skewered in a most unpleasant manner.
And then the real storyline of the film starts to
unfold …
This is at a later point in the legendary hero's life, well
after he had completed the famed 12 Labors --- only to still be betrayed
by the vengeful goddess Hera for being the seed of her husband, Zeus, king of
the gods, and a mortal woman. This revenge takes the form of Hercules
apparently going mad in the middle of one night and savagely slaying his own
family – his beloved wife and children. After that, Herc renounces Zeus and all
the gods and sets out to live the remainder of his life as a mere mortal, a man
haunted and tormented, no longer a demigod.
Toward that end, he has formed the aforementioned band of
mercenaries who roam the Greek world fighting for money, not causes. The hero
of myth and legend lives only in the stories spun by Iolaus as sort of a PR
campaign to attract potential customers and discourage future foes.
The movie, then, becomes more a tale of ancient intrigue and
epic battles than myth and fantasy monsters. And when Lord Cotys, the king of
Thrace, hires Herc and his band to train the battered remnants of the Thracean
army into a fighting force to go up against the rebel horde of one Rheseus, who
allegedly is threatening to overrun the entire kingdom, elements of Seven
Samurai/Magnificent Seven come into play.
Hard to say any more without spoiling too much of how the
rest of it all plays out. Suffice to say there are some spectacular battle
scenes, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson does a credible job playing his
role and shouldering the brunt of the movie's load, there are some interesting
(though not entirely unforeseen) twists, there are some nice bits of wry humor,
and there's even some respectful homages to Hercules (Steve Reeves), Samson
and Delilah (Vic Mature) and other strong man epics that have come before.
And if you don't feel at least some small urge to stand and cheer when The Rock
proclaims (and proves): "I am Hercules!" … well, you're
probably in the wrong movie to begin with.
A lot of fun. Gritty action with just the right touches of
fantasy and drama.
I recommend it.
No comments:
Post a Comment