Movie Review: The Legend of Hercules

 

 
Film Info
 

Release Date: January 10th, 2014
 
MPAA Rating: PG-13
 
Starring: Kellan Lutz, Gaia Weiss, Scott Adkins, Roxanne McKee, Liam Garrigan, Rade Serbedzija
 
Director: Renny Harlin
 
Writer: Sean Hood, Daniel Giat, Renny Harlin, Steve Giulio
 
Genre:
 
Critic Rating
 
 
 
 
 


User Rating
2 total ratings

 

What We Liked


Director Renny Harlin knows action and the film shows that

What We Didn't Like


Dreadful retcon origin story has the feel of being written in a Hollywood blender


1
Posted  January 15, 2014 by

 
Read the Full Review
 
 

The Legend of Hercules is a dreadful origin film about the titular hero from Greek myth. Here, the fabled strong-man (played by Kellan Lutz) must overcome great adversity to accept who he is and what he must do to survive so that can become the hero he is destined to be.

The Legend of HerculesHercules’ birth starts out, indirectly, from the desire of his mother-to-be, Queen Alcmene (Roxanne McKee), who dreams of living in a Greece that knows peace and is not continually driven to war. War so delights her husband King Amphityron (Scott Adkins) that it has become a way of life for the Greeks. The Queen beseeches the goddess Hera and is granted divine assistance. Hercules is born to bring peace to the land.

Needless to say, the King is not too happy that his wife has had a child without him, but he cannot accept that the father is actually Zeus and cannot find evidence of any other man near his wife. Therefore, Hercules grows up on sufferance as a prince but never really has a father. The King instead favors his first-born son, the crown prince Iphicles (Liam Garrigan).

Once grown, the brothers are naturally in constant conflict with one another as Iphicles is the clear favorite of the King even though Hercules is a superior fighter and leader and would normally be favored in such a militaristic country. Let’s just say that being a demi-god has some physical perks.

Later, the brothers are drawn to the same woman, Hebe (Gaia Weiss). She is the Princess of Crete and leads to the main conflict of the story. Then we see Hercules endure betrayal, loss, enslavement, and a search for a way back to Greece so that he can win her back and save his kingdom from the rule of his tyrannical father and somewhat unhinged brother.

Director Renny Harlin, is someone who knows action (Die Hard 2, The Long Kiss Goodnight, Deep Blue Sea) and the film shows that. These scenes seem well-planned and organized and are the best part of the movie. The set pieces are set up admirably. The problem is that the style is so similar to the film 300 and the television series Spartacus that they feel completely ripped-off. Then, there is so much more that is dreadful.

Lutz will never be a Dwayne Johnson much less an Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ironically, the Rock will be in the next Hollywood movie about Hercules in a few months. Lutz proves capable enough during the action scenes but he was the worst actor on the screen and that is unforgivable for the character with the most screen-time. I honestly felt bad for the other actors in the film. Scott Adkins was clearly a better action-hero than Lutz, and he was the villain.

The Legend of Hercules

Kellan Lutz in “The Legend of Hercules.” © 2013 – Summit Entertainment.

There were plot holes and pacing problems but they were nothing that a capable rewrite couldn’t overcome. Despite a couple of good one-liners, this was not well written at all. Humorless and derivative are not a good combination. Oddly, the editing is disjointed as well. My best guess would be that there just wasn’t enough good footage of Lutz to logically edit several scenes. While there are many other flaws in the film, the one that particularly bothered me was the lack of a supernatural/fantasy element. When I think of Hercules, I cannot help but wish for that aspect to come to the forefront a la Clash of the Titans. He is a demi-god after all so that does not seem to be asking too much.

I went in to this film with somewhat low expectations, based on the cast, and was still a bit disappointed. The Legend of Hercules is a retcon origin of a mythical hero that has been thrown into a Hollywood blender from Hades and the resulting mess is a poorly made gladiator-esque tale for Twi-Hards and Spartacus buffs.

Steven Gahm

Steven Gahm

Financial analyst by day. Film fan by night. Book that changed my life, "The Hobbit". Proof that the bible, by Tarantino, is a good read: "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy My brothers. AND YOU WILL KNOW MY NAME IS THE LORD WHEN I LAY MY VENGEANCE UPON THEE.
Steven Gahm

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