Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Fantasy Film Review: The Legend of Hercules

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

This is the first of two Hercules movies releasing in theaters this year. The Legend of Hercules is from Millennium Films, the same production company that brought us the remake of Conan the Barbarian a few years ago.

I would classify this as a "Period Superhero" movie. It was an origin story for the mythological Hercules. The Greek setting was made to look very much like it was in the movie 300. The costumes could have been borrowed directly from that film. It is not historically, or even mythologically, accurate. But, when it comes to fantasy film, I don't take those things into account. It's a story of myth and fantasy, in which the writers took creative license.

This installment of the Hercules legend strays from most other interpretations. There is no questing, no labors, no helping the average person as a hero for the common man, as in the myth and in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys, which is where most people will be familiar with Hercules. This Hercules is not a selfless hero. He is the prince of a Greek kingdom who falls in love with the Princess of Crete. When the princess is betrothed to his older brother, Hercules is betrayed and left for dead in far-off Egypt. His only goal is to reclaim his princess and live happily ever after, but he ends up having to save his kingdom from his brother and step-father.

It seems that the only reason this movie made it to theatrical release (as opposed to direct to DVD) is the script. This is a surprisingly well-written film. For what it is (a superhero action-adventure), it is just about perfectly written. The story is structured with three well-defined acts, and the dialogue isn't too corny. The nature of the story is melodramatic, so a little over-the-top dialogue can be forgiven, but the writers stayed away from cliché lines or groan-inducing proclamations like "You will pay for this!". The characters are written well, with motivations well developed, especially for Hercules's mother, the Princess, and Hercules's older brother. Hercules himself has a singular purpose, which is appropriate for a heroic character in a melodrama. It is only near the end that something happens to the story and there are elements tacked on in the third act that detract from the story and characters. Among these are the suddenly improbable actions of the villain that are only there to spur on Hercules (who really needs no further motivation) and create a larger battle scene at the climax.

This is all the strength the movie has, though. Under the guidance of director Renny Harlan (Die Hard 2, Cutthroat Island), the acting is only average at best from a B- and C-list cast including Kellan Lutz (Twilight) as Hercules, Gaia Weiss as Princess Hebe, and Scott Adkins (Expendables 2, Zero Dark Thirty) as the evil King Amphitryon. The "breakout" performance comes from Roxanne McKee (Game of Thrones), who plays Hercules's mother, Queen Alcmene. She had some impactful scenes that stood out among the other performances. Still, the acting overall was sub-par, but not horrible.

The fight scenes were well-choreographed. However, the editor/director insisted on punctuating the action with freeze-frames and slow-moes (a la 300) that distracted from the action. The fight scenes would have been a lot more exciting without these artificial camera tricks.

All the violence was bloodless. This surprised me and at first I was pleased by it. I've been sickened before by movies like Gladiator and 300 with too much blood and it was refreshing for a movie which is so similar is tone and story not to follow suit with blood splatters like fountains. The violence was just as brutal as any other gladiator movie; when an enemy is eviscerated, you expect to see some blood. But the only blood seen here is what is left on bodies and clothing after the violence has been done. Many times not even that. Because of this, this movie may be considered suitable for older children (13+).

Other effects were only average. Animated effects like lightning were cheesy and poorly produced. It seemed the entire effects budget was spent on the sequence seen in the trailer where Hercules tosses around a pair of stone blocks on chains. This sequence is about 30-45 seconds long and is a key moment in the story, so the money was well spent. People in 3D theaters should be thrilled by it. I can't speak to the 3D quality, however, as I saw it in 2D. The fight scenes were obviously filmed for 3D, however, so it might be worth seeing.

Overall, this was a well-written story with less than perfect execution. It wasn't painful to watch in the least and was actually enjoyable for the majority. The fight scenes were well-put together, with the final fight scene a little improbable, but exciting nonetheless. It had lots of romance, especially toward the beginning and end and should be a fun flick to see on a date-night for fantasy fans (trust me, ladies, you'll enjoy the scenery).


OVERALL SCORE: 6 of 10

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